What I Did 365 - Day 84

No photo for Day 84. I guess it's my equivalent of 'a moment's silence' - Day 84 was my Grandma's funeral. It just felt odd to take photos on the day of a funeral. The service was beautiful - my Mum spoke and she was amazing. You don't often think about the entirety of people's lives, but when someone lays it all out in front of you it can be pretty mind-blowing. After the funeral we spent the afternoon by the river, telling stories and enjoying each other's company. I love my family.

What I Did 365 - Day 83

The highlight of my Wednesday. Quite honestly. Birthday fun aside, last week was actually the toughest that I've gone through in a long while. Basically my Grandma died on the Sunday after a really long battle with severe alzheimer's, hence the increase in time spent with the family. On top of that, dumb things just kept happening to hurt my spirit. Cupcake got an ear infection and had to have a very expensive trip to the vet. Our air conditioner started playing up. Dog started limping incredibly badly very randomly. I can't even remember the other junk that happened, but I can remember the sinking feeling that each day of the week was going to bring a worse surprise than the last. So when Chris washed a load of dishes from our completely over-packed bench, it blew way up and above the exciting charts. Ha. Perspective hey?

What I Did 365 - Day 82

The birthday week continues!!! Tuesday night was family dinner at our classic family birthday restaurant - Pancho's Villa! We go there for almost every birthday to indulge in the greatest Mexican food ever! Pancho's is filled with so many memories with friends and family. One of our favourite pastimes as kids was brandishing our forks and carving into the bright blue tables (it's a 'thing' there, we're not normally vandals!!!) I got the beef nachos which I've amazingly never had before (how????), and they freaking rocked! But the highlight of the visit is always dessert - we can never get past the sopapillas, which is basically a plate filled with cinnamon tortilla chips, icecream and caramel. It's a fun dessert to order because it's prepared by the waiters, and they each have their own way of putting it together. You never know what it's going to come out looking like! But we always know that it will taste super good and give us a great sugar hit for the night. Mmmm...

What I Did 365 - Day 81

Last Monday Chris and I took personal days off work to spend with my family following the weekend's events. We decided to start the day with an amazing breakfast at Steel Tree. I have to have a moment - Steel Tree is hands down one of the most amazing restaurants ever. They are in two locations - the pretty suburb of Settler's Hill Baldivis, and also the Rockingham foreshore which is one of my fondest spots on the planet. So location-wise, they're already winners. They also send you vouchers for free dinner and dessert during the month of your birthday. And at the end of December, our mailbox was flooded with vouchers for free breakfasts at both locations - massive win! On top of the great locations and regular free meals, they happen to make amazing food. Their arancini is to die for, and every new main that I try is SUBLIME. Yep, I just used the word sublime. That's how great they are. So needless to say, we enjoyed our breakfast immensely! Chris had the big fry-up breakfast and I got the cheesey scrambled eggs with hash browns. Oh, and they do $1 (delicious) coffees if you order breakfast. I'm more than a little bit in love!!!

Look Book Love! Lanvin for H&M

One of my hopes for 2011 is that I learn about fashion. I'm a big lover of clothes and could spend hours looking at gorgeous pictures of pretty dresses. I'm hoping to start this as a new regular feature - Look Book Love! The image above is from the Lanvin for H&M Look Book. Heavenly! I love the romance of this look so so much, but then I have always been a sucker for tulle AND flowers, so it's no wonder. I came across Lanvin for H&M in Vogue Australia and had to find out more - what I love about this collection is that its purpose is to bring high-end designer fashion to those of us who don't have a high-end designer budget. That, and it's quite gorgeous. You can view the full Look Book here.

What I Did 365 - Day 80

Day 80 was a Sunday, and marked Day 1 of my wonderful and epic BIRTHDAY WEEK! We had planned a family dinner at Hogs Breath for the evening, but at the last minute my Mum and Dad had to tend to some urgent family stuff, so it just ended up being my sisters, Chris, Hannah's new man Julius (who I was so excited to finally meet!) and of course me. Wanting to get back to my parents, we ate dinner quickly and then all 5 of us squeezed into my car to make the journey to their place. We hung out as a family for a little while, and then Chris and I had to head home - but not before I received my birthday balloon! Inspired by my recent corn-growing adventures, my family picked out a corn balloon! It made me laugh, and it still does every time I look at it. It's our family tradition to give a helium balloon to each other on our birthdays, and it's become fun picking out weird ones for my sisters over the years!

What I Did 365 - Day 79

Absolutely stunning. As you can tell quite easily, Day 79 was Jayne and Bruno's wedding! We trekked out to the botanical gardens in Wanneroo (one of my favourite places!) and watched them tie the knot. Jayne was a completely stunning bride and I loved that her full-length dress showed her gorgeous shoes off! She did her vows in Spanish as a surprise for Bruno - so lovely! The pair of them had the HUGEST smiles throughout the day and it was such a joy to be a part of. The reception was overlooking the beach and was a lot of fun - plus the food was great. All in all, it was a fantastic day. We won't be seeing them for a long time now - they're on their honeymoon and then heading off to live in Argentina. Sigh. I'm really going to miss them... but I know this is going to be an amazing adventure for them!