That’s What Your Mum Said

My lovely friend Jane, my little sister Katie and moi.

My delightful friend Mitch turns 30 this week and he celebrated on the weekend with a ‘Rockers v Mods’ themed party. It was hella fun and was just the release I needed after 4 weeks of hardcore study with barely a break (excepting he Atheist gathering of course)! Here are some pics for your viewing delight. There are a lot of me. I turned into a bit of a camera whore, but hell, I had a great time, and I finally had eyelashes (in reality, I have stumpy lashes that are shorter than my boyfriends. This kills me). I love fake lashes.

The partner and I

Sisters

My friend Peta, sister Katie and I

My friend told us to look like we love each other. This is what love looks like.

Friends foreeevvvvver

Very cheap cocktails = very big hangover

The birthday boy and I looking mighty stunned

Dancing like mods

Sister annoying partner. Usual state of affairs.

Seeing as though I am now essentially jobless and a poor, baked-bean eating student I can’t afford to be too frivolous with the dollars this year. The partner and I are also saving up to buy a shiny car at the end of the year (one with amazing things like power steering and air conditioning and an automatic gear shift that I can actually understand) so I can’t keep using all my money on whores and cocaine.

There are some things I will not ignore though. Like this line-up:

Silverchair / Tegan and Sara / Vampire Weekend / Empire of the Sun / Spoon / Grinspoon / Lisa Mitchell / Miami Horror / British India / Bag Raiders / The Only / Jonathon Boulet

AND MORE

So Adele, say hello to Mi-Goreng for every meal for the next few months. Yum.

Last night I had the extreme pleasure to attend a hens party for a friend I have known since high school and her soon to be bride. She is a couple of years younger than me and was actually in my little sisters year; however our school was small enough that the people with similar interests usually made a beeline for each other, regardless of age or socio-economic status. She liked debating and so did I. I liked acting and so did she! We both went on to do Communication studies at university and had the same social circle as a result of this. She is now doing a graduate law degree, and guess what? I will be doing the same thing next year. One way or another we have plagiarised each others life along the way!

Anyhew, all of the above faff was merely to demonstrate that I love the hell out of her and I am so very happy that she has found the most amazing person in the world to marry. After searching far and wide she ended up falling head over heels in love with another girl in our social circle. The first night they got together was a mutual friends 21st (much to the deep and utter surprise of EVERYONE in attendance – they made out for hours right next to the doorway that led to the beer fridge, so we all got a sneak peek) and they have not been apart since. That was over two years ago and they are now making the leap into the world of marriage. Being that Australia is still in the dark ages and run by fascist Christian noobs this marriage is not legally recognised. However it is possibly the most suitable and solid partnership I have ever encountered and if anyone should be signing a marriage certificate, it should be these girls.

Last night we celebrated their second last weekend of freedom to the theme ‘Kiss Me Slightly’. When my friend was still single she used to use this line to get kisses from almost everyone in the night spots we would haunt. It was so very effective and it has taken on a life of its own in our group – everyone appreciates the craftsmanship and subtlety that is involved. We had a list of 30 people that we had to get kisses from over the course of the night. Highlights were a man wearing leather, a slut, and a person on crutches (by the time I had left no-one had yet conquered this). Seeing as though I have a partner I primarily aimed to help everyone else with their kissing collection, although everyone that was in a relationship was very above board and merely went for pecks on the cheek with the strangers they accosted.

It was a really awesome night that started at the Arthouse Hotel in the centre of Sydney and moved onto Oxford St a little later. Oxford St is the gay hub of Sydney and has the most amazingly vibrant, friendly vibe. Such a mish-mash of very different people dancing and talking and generally having a great time. We went to the Columbian Hotel and danced with many people and after this, I called it a night. After last weekend I needed to be a little bit nice to my poor body and go back to my sisters house at a reasonable hour (1.30am is reasonable, isn’t it)?

I am so excited for these two intelligent, sexy, kind, fun women who contribute to society more than a lot of people I have encountered. I hope that one day soon they can make their marriage entirely official and be recognised and the serious couple that they are. They truly deserve nothing less.

Yeah, it is already Friday and I am only just posting about last weekend, but let’s be honest – I have spent the entire week attempting to shake off the effects of last weekend and hence lost the ability to type in an acceptable manner. I am choosing today because I can still reminisce about the awesomeness that was last weekend, whilst enjoying the pure relaxation that is right now. Just so you can be reassured that I am already making the most of my current weekend, be aware of three facts:

1. I just ate salt and pepper squid salad, a piece of toast covered in melted cheese and pepper, and then half of a small tub of ice cream from Cold Rock (coconut with Mini M&M’s and caramel chunks, and coffee with Caramello Koalas).

2. I am wearing a knitted hair band and it feels damn sweet.

3. I will most likely finish the ice cream when I am finished with this post.

Last weekend was pretty much all taken up with the Bimbadgen Blues Festival. Bimbadgen Estate is a winery in the Hunter Valley and it is located approximately an hour away from where I live. It is a wonderful venue for a small scale music festival and is particularly suited to blues and roots music with its rolling hills, wonderful wine and relaxed vibe. I went with the partner, my sister, my best friend and three other close mates. We also all ran into MANY people we knew throughout the day – it was a regular school/university/life reunion.

We started the day with a killer brunch (even if I do say so myself)

I made mini quiches, blueberry and ricotta hotcakes with maple syrup, cinnamon and mascarpone cheese, and a large fruit platter. Of course, it was washed down with champagne and orange juice.

We caught a bus to the venue which meant that we were able to drink without remorse! We had some cider on the way, which although formally forbidden on the coach, was conveniently ignored by the driver. Cheers to him!

It was a sunny, beautiful day, and luckily by the time we got there at 3pm the harshness of the midday sun was almost gone – a bonus as the partner has quite the ginga skin which generally reacts to sun by melting, and also because the rest of us didn’t have to deal with the effects of the sun and drinking wine at the same time. The atmosphere was lovely and fresh and the crowd was joyful which is something I really appreciate when attending festivals. It really helps to get in the mood when everyone else is having a kick ass time and generally being a decent member of society. Every now and then the organisers would send flames shooting into the sky from the main winery building which was also really cool.

The line-up was quite a mixture and to be honest, I actually only really watched two bands. The rest managed to provide background music for wonderful conversations with friends (old and new, drunken chatty ones) and eating the amazing picnic my group managed to scrounge together. Without consulting each other prior to the day we all brought different foods that complemented each other wonderfully. I took leftover quiches and chocolate coated strawberries (fracking yum), my sister brought about five cheeses and many different crackers, my best friend brought her patented egg dip (ditto on the fracking yum) and my other friends brought homemade chocolate tarts, sourdough, chive and cheese spread and a container of balsamic and olive oil mixed together. Very, very fantabulous.

The first band I went to dance to (after lining up for a ridiculous 40 minutes to get a bottle of wine which next time I will sneak into the grounds in my bags that were barely checked by the security guards) was Philadelphia Grand Jury. Man, they are FUN, not to mention uber cute. My best friend loves the bejesus out of them and it was cool to dance along with her like uncoordinated gits. They have a touch of Vampire Weekend about them but are far more down to earth and rough around the edges. The only downer was my friend getting red wine spilt down the entire side of her white dress by bogan feral wanker whores. She handled it like the awesome pro that she is and started dancing all over them and suggestively winking in their direction. Being that homophobia goes hand in hand with being a bogan feral wanker whore, they backed off quick smart. She managed to look great the entire day and totally ignore the fact that she had the biggest red wine stain known to man on her pretty dress. She is my hero and partner in crime. Here she is hoola-hooping like a champion. We both discovered that we have a hidden talent and have vowed to further this skill with drunken competitions in the future. Thanks to the hippies that provided us with the means to discover this gift!

The other band that got us dancing (and never fails to do so) was Bluejuice. They are just happiness, pure and simple. They have a great time on stage and that translates into the audience having a blast as well. I have seen them live 5 or so times now and they just keep getting better. Man, did we pull some moves. Observe!

Notice the delightful Forever 21 skirt I am wearing. It has pockets and was one of the most comfortable outfits I have worn to a festival yet. I think that the awkward dance move/poor posture/flip flops really set it off.

It was a hella fun day out regardless of the fact that I ate way too much cheese which resulted in me being the sickest I have been in a long time for two days after, and then very off colour for the rest of the week. That’s the price you pay for a day of sin I am afraid. God really showed me (douche that he is). A few more photos below to punctuate the fun. Take notice of the photo with the amazing graphically designed smiley face (thanks MSPaint) and go get involved in the awesome pieces made by Kim at Cupcakes and Mace. You won’t be disappointed