A-Z of Spring/Summer 07/08

A is for ANKLETS

Shorts and skirts and dresses without stockings means its time to show off my anklets again! Yay! Bought some strings of hemp up in Byron last summer, make me feel earthy haha.

B is for BBQs

Warmer weather means barbies with friends. My favourite thing to do on a sunny summer day or warm night. epitome of relaxation.

C is for COMPILATIONS

I've already made a compilation that will be blasted from the speakers in my car, on holidays and at BBQs throughout summer. I love compilations - the songs bring back so many memories later on.

D is for DRIVING

Another favourite pastime for relaxation during summer. Driving around with friends with the windows down, the sun shining, breeze blowing through the windows and happy, summery music playing. Ahhh bliss.

E is for EXPLORING

So many places to explore this Summer! I want to visit all the little places around Melbourne that I've not yet gotten to know - and there are a lot. Shops, galleries, parks and gardens, beaches... And once I've done Melbourne, I intend to make my way around Sydney, Canberra, and Byron Bay.

F is for FREEDOM

I'll be free!! My uni course finishes officially on October 31. So in almost exactly 3 weeks you can address me as Sophie - Professional Communicator.

G is for GRAPES

I love crispy grapes. Red ones or green ones - as long as they're firm and seedless. Yummy. Add some icecream or yoghurt and I'm in heaven.

H is for HIGH WAISTS

They're still everywhere in Spring/Summer fashion. Skirts, shorts, pants...as long as they're above your belly button they're in. Tomorrow I'm hoping to buy a couple of A-line hight-waisted skirts I've been coveting!

I is for ICECREAM

Wow I've been craving rich icecream. A Drumstick... yummm. Or a Billabong or Bubble O'Bill for old times sake. Or just a big tub of caramel or neopolitan icecream. Hell, I'll take anything that can pass as icecream. Even frozen yoghurt would satisfy me.

J is for JOB HUNTING

I'm currently unemployed, so this Summer will involve searching for a new place of work so that I can afford to satisfy my shopping and socialising addictions. I've got my heart set on a book store at the moment. Somewhere like Readings or Borders where I could never get bored, surrounded by awesome books and magazines and CDs and DVDs. Wouldn't say no to a discount either.

K is for KERCHIEFS

i've developed a fondness for kerchiefs. So much so that I popped into Ikea today to buy myself a special scarf holder for my wardrobe. Now it'll be extra easy to pick out which scarf to wear each day :)

L is for LAUGHING

Hopefully my spring and summer will be full of laughter. And come Autumn my stomach muscles will be extra firm.

M is for METALLICS

Definitely huge this season. Doesn't matter where, wear it on you feet, on your legs, on your wrists, on your head, on your chest - Just wear it. But my word of warning: everything in moderation. You're going for an extra bit of sparkle and sophistication, not a C3PO look-alike competition.

N is for NEW YEARS

Hmmm not too long to go until 2008. Plans to be made. Going to the coast is looking like a promising move.

O is for OP SHOPPING

Hell, op-shopping is a regular occurrence all year round, so why not in Spring and Summer too? More time off leaves more time to trawl through the goodies. Definitely have to throw in a visit or two to Camberwell trash and treasure market too.

P is for PARKS

A lot of the activities I have planned for Summer seem to take place in parks. A picnic is definitely on the cards after last year's attempt turned into me and my best friend sitting in the Botanic Gardens with slurpies. Yoga in the parks looks like a bit of fun. And of course our yearly dance lesson in the park! We did salsa last time - crowds of people gathered around a stage while a Latino instructor calls out 'side together side, side together side..' Followed by a picnic and trying out our new moves as a band plays Latin tunes. And all for free. So much fun!

Q is for QUIRKINESS

It's time I embrace my inner quirkiness. Mainstream = boring. This is kinda linked to my E entry.

R is for ROAD TRIPS

We've been talking about a road trip for ages, so it's time it comes to fruition. My best friend, me and some of our guy friends in a car, driving down the coast with one of my compilations blaring. Bring it on!

S is for SHIRTS and SHIRT DRESSES

Another Spring/Summer staple. I ♥ shirts and the shirt dress. Oh so classy, and the dress makes me feel surprisingly feminine.

T is for TSHIRTS and TSHIRT DRESSES

Another top turned dress, I love the casual feel of a loose tshirt, whether long or shorter. It can look so stylish, and yet always as if it's just been thrown on, rather than painstakingly styled. Definitely a staple of a relaxed summer holiday. Perfect for all those coastal trips I have planned.

U is for UNWINDING

Ahhh... my intention for the holidays. Long overdue.

V is for VISITING

Visiting is fun. Visiting new places. Visiting friends at their homes unexpectedly. Visiting your favourite shop, or beach. Visiting a holiday house. Visiting a different state. Yay.

W is for WHITE

If you don't realise that white is extremely in this season, you haven't been doing your fashion magazine homework. Lucky for me I have always been drawn to everything white, floaty and lacey. This is my season, oh yeah.

X is for eXTRA FAKE TAN

I currently glow in the dark I'm so white. Not a good look. So until I get a bit of a natural glow happening, my fake tan will be getting a work out.
Disclaimer: I do not subscribe to the 'fake tan until I turn orange' way of thinking. Natural glow is the key word.

Y is for YES

As in the opposite of No. I will say Yes to everything this Summer (within reason). If I'm to uphold my promises to explore and experiment, No should not enter my vocabulary. A positive, flexible outlook is a definite requirement.

Z is for the ZOO

I want to have a group trip to the zoo to see the Jazz Twilights concerts. Jazz, friends, food and monkeys. What more could you ask for in a Summer outing?

kiss hug

Premature celebrations

I know it's still very early days, but the release of the line-up for Pyramid Rock music festival in Phillip Island got me thinking about what I should do for New Years. Last year was a particularly uneventful night, but in its defence an AMAZING day followed. The vast majority of my friends were out of Melbourne ( in Phillip Island, on the Great Ocean Road and interstate generally) and my bestie and I had tickets to Summadayze the next day, so there was no need for a big night. We decided to just rock up to Chapel St, expecting to find the whole area as one big party. Instead, we arrived to find abut two restaurants open with a whole lot of middle aged bogans already wasted and 'boogie-ing' on down to shitty music. Hmmm as appealing as that was we had no choice but to head to Qbar down the road, to an event that we had recently sold our tickets to, having decided it would be crap and a waste of money. Luckily some underage girls had been knocked back when we arrived, and we graciously offered to buy their tickets off them. And we got them at a reduced price! Score.

Surprisingly we knew no-one there, we spent the few hours dancing by ourselves among a seriously grotty crowd, and following the midnight countdown we looked at eachother, nodded and headed home to my place. In fact I had more fun there, chatting until the wee hours of the morning about what we would wear the next day.

Thank god for Summadazye. That made up for the crappy night tenfold. Awesome crowd, awesome artists, awesome weather (other than the 30 mins or so of rain) and overall awesome day.




But I'm not so sure I want to go to Summadayze again this year. I'll be seeing Daft Punk in December, and I need to save money for trips to Sydney, Canberra, a road trip, and Europe later in the year. So I'm in need of some inspiration for New Years eve celebrations. I'm determined to get it right, every year it is such an anticlimax. Always a drama, a crap group, or a crap venue. So it's time to reverse that trend. I'm thinking a trip to someone's beachhouse on the coast. Lorne or Phillip Island perhaps? Any suggestions? What's on the cards for everyone's New Years?

kiss hug

Check. Check. Check.

Plans for tomorrow:

1. sleep in until after 10
2. read a few more chapters of A Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F.Scott Fitzgerald
   
3. get to tute a bit early so I can get my assignment finished to hand in
4. check out the Cactus Jam sale on in Prahran
5. head to Big W to buy Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Fast Times at Ridgemont High at DVD sale for $8 each
6. write up a mid-semester reflection on blog for Interdisciplinary Comm Project subject
7. eat yummy dinner :)
8. chill out with Mike over Lizzy Maguire movie and photos of his overseas trip
   

its the final countdown

there was sun today! sun! it was so nice...sitting outside at a cafe on gertrude street, not worrying about piles of assignments building up at home... the countdown to summer holidays is on!

8 weeks of class left

SO excited. 15 years of straight study is too much. the thought of freedom...oh my god i can't even begin to tell you how happy i get..

my aims for next year :

• work casually somewhere work related... maybe a small publishing house or something?
  
• work experience at a lot of different events/editing places/magazines/marketing companies etc.
  
• do lots of trips away - health spa, Sydney, Byron, and of course the big one, Europe :)
• chilllllll the fuck ouuuuuut

gonna be awesome.