What?????????

As part of a tag, my last post was dedicated to my beautiful darling nonna, who I was looking forward to spending some time with.

She died suddenly this morning. Massive brain haemorrage. There was nothing the doctors could do to prolong her time with us. I am in total and absolute shock, but the worst part - I didn't get to say goodbye.

Spend time with your loved ones today........PLEASE.

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged by one of my favourite bloggers, LJ of Love, Life and a Double Latte to:

* Go to the fourth folder where you keep your photographs

* Choose the fourth picture

* Explain it.

This is a photo of my beautiful nonna (grandma), taken at my parent's house on (almost) the eve of my 30th birthday. She's 82 here. We were having a family shindig, as Nathan and I were heading off to New York a couple days later to celebrate my entry into the next decade of adulthood. If I could do one thing, it would be to spend more time with my nonna. To drink endless cups of coffee with her, etching the stories of her life into my memory forever. What were her dreams? Who were her best friends when she was five, nine, 12 years old? What were her favourite things to do as a 16 year old? Life was a lot harder for her than I will ever experience in my lifetime, yet despite all this, she has remained ever elegant and loving, offering boundless generosity to anyone she meets.

Here's to you nonna - ti amo sempre.

xxxxoooo

Now it's my turn to tag the following bloggers:

New York City Daily Photo
MahaloFashion
Coco's Tea Party
Mostly Mod

I wish I was as talented as...

Kat Macleod

The intricate detail and beauty of her illustrations...

The vibrant colours....

The use of luscious fabrics...

Is it possible to envy the wardrobe of something unreal?

I am left gasping at the sheer loveliness of Kat's work.

Old School...

I've been wanting my own Polaroid camera for a while now and thanks to the inspiration of fellow bloggers who share their beautifully framed, hauntingly grained instant camera images online, I was finally pushed over the edge to get out and source one. First stop - eBay!

I won this Polaroid 636 Instant Camera today and I can't wait to get it in the mail - time to step into Wonder Years mode and start taking some old school photos.

5 things I love about Polaroid photos...

1) The subtle afternoon light that seems to swathe itself across every subject in the image.

2) Their retro sentimental feel.

3) Their ability to instantly transport me back to my childhood.

4) They make everyone smile - bring a polaroid camera out and you can see the memories flood into the mind, and surface on the faces of those old enough to remember the real instant cameras.

5) The excited anticipation of gathering around the still drying film as it morphs from a cloudy blank canvas into images of a moment captured in time.

Images of an Australian summer....

I love bouganivillea, especially the delightfully deep pink variety I photographed the other day. Wish I'd taken a closer shot. Ah well, next time.

We had dinner last night at a place called Soda along Perth's northern beaches. It was a 42 degree celsius day, so we were inclined to bathe in this icy cold water.

Sunset on the horizon of the Indian Ocean - simply magic!

Time to cleanse...

In preparation of our move to far away shores in a couple months, we're having a Garage/Yard Sale this Sunday and boy, have we collected some STUFF over the years.

I've two and four garbage bags of shoes and clothes to sell, respectively, yet my remaining wardrobe is still bursting at the hinges...although I can actually differentiate between my pieces now. I'm pretty embarassed at such waste, but it's obvious isn't it? I desperately needed each and every one of these items at time of purchase!

My new year's/new country resolution is to only buy what I really, really, really, really, really need. Although how will I resist all those markets and their nik nak offerings that await me in London? Plus I feel the need to start collecting antique tea cups and saucers, much to Nathan's dismay :o(

Must get back to covering myself in dust as I continue sorting through our much loved, but seldom used bric a brac....such a nice word for "crap" don't you think?

Happy Thursday/Friday to you wherever you may be in this world!

Fly me to the moon...

Image from Lex and the City

Second and third images from A Cup of Jo

Image from Black*Eiffel

Don't you just love these balloon images?

Being the sentimental creature that I am, they remind me of the simplicity of childhood, where fighting for the red balloon over the pink was the one and only concern of the day.

There's something so very innocent, yet romantic about balloons, particularly in these beautifully captured images.

But their most vital strength is their ability to make me smile.

Hope they make you smile too :o)

I did it, I did it....

I resisted every temptation laid before me, and refrained from eating meat the entire festive season.

Then yesterday, when I was feeling less than energetic and mighty hungry, I declared to the husband that I was NOW going to start eating meat again. The time had come.

No sooner had these words tumbled from my lips that we drove by a billboard exclaiming Go Veg, Be Green.

Well, there goes that idea... :o(

P.S Happy 2009 to you all by the way! Hope it's a year crammed with a multitude of opportunity to make your dreams reality.