Menu Planning

Now that it is almost 2010 and New Year's Resolutions are being made I am getting in early and going to start getting back to my menu planning.

Week beginning 1/1/10

This week I am using two books:

Eat Me Now - Melanie Brown Waxman

Practically Macrobiotic Cookbook by Keith Michell

Both of these books are concerned with Macrobiotic principles which I try to follow but often without much success - not because of the food but because of my terrible lack of will power.

1/1/10

B: Bannock's with hummus and miso soup

L:Falafel in a pita with tahini, tomato, mint and carrot

D: Lamb cutlets (for the Beau), mash, broccolini

2/1/10

B: Fried mushrooms on bread and Bancha tea

L: Lentil Patty with Satay sauce and a miso soup

D: Home made Pesto with wholemeal pasta and a garden salad and steak for friends that are coming over.

3/1/10

Also on Sunday I will made bread in my breadmaker, a huge lot of brown rice and friands (for my Beau to take to his new job)

B: Bannock with tahini and marmalade.  Porridge with vanilla soy milk

L: Brown rice sushi and miso soup

D: Prawn Toast, Edamame, Lettuce and Pea Soup

4/1/10

B: Polenta with soy and pickled ginger

L: Vegetable Soup (or leftover soup) and brown rice

D: Chile with TVP mince

5/1/10

B: Scrambled tofu with mushrooms and broccolini

L: Miso Soup, Guacamole and corn chips, Millet Crush (with sweet potato)

D: At my Mum's - so something delicious.

6/1/10

B: Brown rice with umeboshi and gomashio

L: Millet crush, pickled cucumbers and leftover soup

D: At my grandma's so will probably be baked veggies and a veggie "chicken" schnitzel

7/1/10

B: Porridge with stewed fruit, Bancha tea

L: Brown rice salad (with corn and avocado)

D: Leftover's from the last few days.

Changes

I have not posted in ages as so much in my life is changing right now and it seems pointless to put any of it down in writing as it may change at any moment.

My Beau is about to finish his studies and we have been given our posting.  It is not in Sydney - which is nice as we want to move anyway but we don't know where to move to and we cannot decide on the same place.  We keep on tossing up between the Central Coast and the Hunter Valley.  

I have finished my university studies and so am now certified to teach secondary music.  I will start applying for a full-time job as soon as I know where I will be living.  

I have resigned from all of my current teaching posts as I do feel like I am ready to move on from all those schools and people.  I love them all and will miss them but I do feel like a change.  I am a bit scared as this will be the first time I am unemployed in about 7 years!  On the other hand I am looking forward to setting up a house and garden and being a good wife to be.

I wish that this was more interesting for everyone to read but I just had to write (or type) it out so I can not worry about it so much!

PS.  It is disgustingly hot here.

The Wedding - Part 2

So it was a battle between the Convent (Beau's choice) and Margan wineries (my choice).  We both lobbied hard for our choices but in the end the winner was Margan.

I am so excited to be having our wedding there as I feel it already has memories for us and has an amazing backdrop of the mountains where I would one day like to have a property.

We have decided to have a morning wedding.  We will be married at 11 am and then have a lunch - consisting of canapés and champagne, 2 courses and then our wedding cake for dessert.  We are inviting about 60 guests.  We invited 130 to our engagement party but just can't afford to have that many for our wedding.  Also a lot of those guests were far- flung family that we never see or have any contact with.  I felt bad inviting them to the engagement party knowing that they would not be coming to the wedding - but everyone else seemed to think it was ok.

We are getting away with just having who we want at the wedding because we are paying for it ourselves.  My father has remarried and had children with my step-mother so I don't expect him to offer anything (not that I want him too - I don't even know if I can ask him to walk me

 down the aisle).  Also my Mother wants to pay something toward the wedding but she has already bought my dress.  We want to feel like we don't have to do what other people want or invite them because of this or that.

I can envisage it will be difficult though.  

To make myself feel better here is a picture of my wedding gown.  Not very vintage - and not at all what I thought I would go for but I love that it's not white.  Which is making it hard to select wedding colours for flowers etc and the Beau is refusing to look at it (he is very traditional about things like that).  Any suggestions?

La Sposa, Pronovius "Paradiso" gown in Chardonnay

Holiday Slump

At the moment I am on school hoidays but not for much longer.

Due to my Beau being away with college still I have no one to go away with as everyone else who I would like to go away with (and those that could out up with me) are working.

I feel like I haven't really done anything at all these hols -  although I know I have.  I haven't just been doing "nothing".  So in the interest of making myself feel like they were worthwhile, here is a list of things  have done:

• Booked a wedding venue (more on this later)
• Spring cleaned the kitchen - although you can't tell anymore
• Spent a day driving around an area I may be moving to at the end of the year (depending on the placement that we get) to decide where we might like to buy our first home together (and the first house I will have ever lived in).
• Done my tax return for last year
• Eaten about a million pieces of nougat.
• Cooked some lovely food
•  Done a few days of thrift shopping with my Mum and Grandparents
• Designed a wedding website
• Gotten my car fixed (someone crashed into my while it was parked - in a car park -  and didn't leave a note).
• Done some Christmas shopping and made some present idea lists.
• Caught up with a few friends I haven't seen in ages.
• Had my hair "done"

To make this post a bit more interesting I thought I would do a list of all of things that I am in love with at the moment:

• Nougat as previously mentioned.  My favourite is Massam's honey and almond.

• Sleeping-in while everyone else is getting up.   I love my Tempur mattress.  My bedroom feels very calming in the morning.  This isn't my bed but kind of has the same colours and head board.

• The ocean temperature - it's about 20 which is the same as out.  I know because my brother made me go for a swim.

• Champagne - I'm averaging a bottle every two days!

• CD player in my hire car - my normal car doesn't have one - I can listen to jazz all day!

The Wedding - Part I

Here we go,

The planning has started in earnest.  We have a date: 27th August 2010.

Over this long weekend, the Beau and I went for a drive to the Hunter Valley to look at our short-listed venues for the wedding.

The places we looked at were:

• The Sebel Kirkton Park
  
• Margan Family Winery 
  
• Pepper Convent

The Beau likes the Convent and I like Margan.

The Beau turned into a gushing bride the moment we walked into the convent.  It's very shabby chic/French country.  I do like it - just not as much as Margan.  The convent does have an

 outdoor reception option - where we could sit under a trellis of Wisteria with long tables.  It also has a wet-weather option of a beautiful breakfast room with French doors looking onto gardens and said terrace.  We are going to be married in the morning and have a wedding brunch.

The ceremony can take place next to a lake, which has willows around it.   The Beau also think it could be nice that it may be haunted!

It kind of reminds me of school - where the was a convent - which I did sleep in once!  It smells the same, everyone whispers and you can hear everybody walking around.  I also think that the upkeep is not that wonderful - I saw beer bottles around the house and the verandah hadn't been swept.  Inside all looked ok.  

I forgot to the camera but here are some photos:

Here is one of the rooms - upstairs though - so for some of our guests.

This is the breakfast room which would be the wet-weather option.  I really don't like the chairs and their covers though.  I feel it's too "done". 

Margan winery is in Broke  - which is out of the centre of the commercial area for wineries.

Margan is also a bit unusual - it is quite new so it doesn't have all the history associsated with some of the other places we saw but all inside is modern and clean.  I thought that I would have like to go for something a bit older in style but I like the fact the the modern decoration and design means that it isn't "geared" towards weddings.

We are able to have an outside ceremony at Margan, with the mountain range behind us.  We can also have the reception on the verandah which is great because it is still a possibility when it's raining.  We actually had lunch on the verandah and it was raining but it was so quiet and beautiful.  The verandah overlooks their own chicken run and veggie garden at a distance.  On the lawn in between we could have croquet and boules set-up.  

The wedding planner was a dream and she didn't think that anything was too hard or impossible - she even said I could bring my antique linens to dress the tables!

 Here is view to the mountain ranges through the vineyards.

Here is one of the ceremony options - the courtyard.

  This is a picture of the verandah were we would have our tables for the reception.

This is the area that the verandah looks out onto.  It is not usually this yellow.  It is also an option for the ceremony.

Here is another picture of the courtyard but from the other side - the entrance.

7 Things

I have just finished reading Lobster and Swan blog and she had been forwarded on a 7 thing post.  I think that's how it works - anyway - she has asked everone reading to lost 7 things about themselves too.  I know I enjoy reading what people think about themselves so I thought I would give it a go:

1.  I have a terrible will power.  

No matter how hard I try or want something I am a shocker when it comes to keeping promises to myself.  I have no one else to blame but myself and it disgus

ts me that I cannot stick to things that should be easy like cleaning the kitchen.  Strang

e though - give me 6 years of university study and I'm your gal.

2. I used to be a flight attendant.

I only did it for 6 months while I was in my final year of university and it was a nightmare coordinating flight schedules and classes.  I flew for a Regional Australian airline on the Dash series - where you are sometimes the only flight attendant.  I found it similar to working in a  bar but with heels and and much less sleep.  The most glamourous part was having a pilot offer to put your suitcase in the hold for you or wheeling your suitcase around the terminal (for all of about 3 minutes!)

3.  I love musicals.

I don't know if this is such a surprise.  And it's not just any musical - give me Rodgers and Hammerstein and Gordon McRae any day.  Deep down all I want is a strong man to sort out money and a house and for me to feel looked after and then for him to burst into song and whisk me around the lounge room in some choreographed number.  Disgustingly anti-feminist I know.  It won't happen but I can dream about it.

4.  I have a linen problem.

This has a little to do with my will power but I cannot stop buying linen's.  Not just any linens but beautiful damask and embroidery.  I see them in the shop and think that some lovely person has spent hours working on it and it's so sad that it's now not treasured by anyone. 

5.  I love reading Patrick O'Brien

Naval books really do it for me.  I think I have a huge crush on Jack even though he is almost everything I despise in a man - cheating and ungrateful - he has this strange sense of loyalty and fairness that I find in myself. 

6.  Confrontation

I hat confrontation with anybody - people at the supermarket in my personal space, people who push in the queues, restaurant who mess up my order.  But the flip side is that a have a hot temper so most of the time I just make a horrible face and simmer away for the rest of the day - I have a hard time letting go.

7. Composing

I studied music composition at the Sydney Conservatoiurm for my undergraduate degree and have note so much as written a single note since I left.  I feel like I was a bit of an imposter while I was there, as writing for me was not because I had to but because I was good at it.  I want to write something but maybe I'm just afraid that what will come out is not "right" or "good" but I should get over myself and give it a go.

Now at the end of the post of Lobster and Swan everyone who read the post was asked to post 7 things about them so I will do the same.  Please link to your post in the comments section so I can find about more about you!

To make this post a bit more interesting I have included some random photographs of myself and various people.

A little break

One of the Vintage Cars and Trailers set up at the 50s fair.

While the Beau has been back from College I have been spending every moment I can with him.  It was so lovely to sleep next to him again and to have someone make me cups of tea.

While he was here we had picnics and cocktail parties and went to the football but most importantly we went to the 50s fair at Rose Sidler House.  Unfortunately I did not get a photo of us together and I didn't get to wear the dress that I began making because my lovely machine broke!  It was almost finished but not quite. 

Here is what it is supposed to look like.

This is how far I got (hadn't done the binding or fastenings etc) - but it fit!

Here is my helper. Coco

And again, helping me to cut out the pattern.

Now I did not plan a back-up outfit despite my terrible track record with finishing dresses on time, so this as put together the morning of the Fair.  The jacket is the only Vintage item here.  But the dress was light and had a full skirt and a happy pattern so I think it kind of works.  

There were some really great outfits that would have taken a age to put together and some amazing hair.  I am too shy to ask people to pose for me but my step-father came and he is a photographer so I'm sure he got some great shots that I will post.  There was also bands dancing, stalls, a hairdresser and of course the house.  We got some things that I will post after they have been cleaned.

I have since learnt that you can visit the house any Sunday so I might go again soon.  It was so crowded that it was hard to get a feel for what it would have been like to live there (it is on a large block surrounded by natural bush land).

Cheers.  Our picnic in the National Park.

The Pumpkin

The Pumpkin is my baby.  Her real name is Coco, but due to her colour she gets Pumpkin.

My Mum bought her for me when U was living alone as she said "it's nice to come home to a "live" thing".  I thought it was a funny thing to say at the time

 but since then Coco has become an integral part of my life.  

Every time I open the door she is there to say hello.  She sleeps with me, calms me down, comforts me, drives me insane and follows me around all the time.

I guess it is like having a child in some ways (not that I have one).  

She is at the vet today with Dr Peter and is having an operation.   I cannot go and get her for another 3 hours and 15 minutes.  I know she will be ok but I can't stop thinking of her so I've picked the photos I have of her that  show her personality the best.

Coco in the washing basket - making it impossible for me to finish hanging out the washing.

Here is Coco in a basket that now keeps all her junk.  Whenever there is a box or bag (or basket) she will crawl in and go to sleep.

Here she is on the dining table watching someone in the kitchen, hoping that they will find where her crunchies are kept and feed her.  I had forgotten about those lovely carnations.

Weekend Plans

Good morning,

This weekend is shaping up to be super busy. It's my first weekend back at work (though so many kids are sick at the moment).

The things I have to do are:

• Put away sooooo much washing
• Vacuum
  
• Dust
• Water my plants
• Buy a birthday present for a 5-year-olds party tomorrow
• Begin my last university subject (yeah)
• Put away all the new vintage knitting pattern I bought over the last two weeks (I can't knit but it's my new addiction)
• Begin a spring cleaning plan.
• Clean out and re-pack the garage with my brother.  This is going to be a huge job as at the moment we can't even get in!
• Write the Band Bugle
• Post about my 50s far outfit.

The lovely blog 50s Gal has got me inspired to clean, clean, clean!!!

Goulburn Weekend

Last weekend I travelled down to Goulburn to visit my Beau.  I think I might have mentioned that this is the weekend of over indulgence that sparked the (best-intentioned-but-not-so-successful) healthy week that is happening.  Here are some photos from the weekend.

This is me on a walk of one of the caves. I had to cover my ears it was sooo cold.  The top s a vintage item I got op-shopping the week before.

The Beau took this pictures of some Rosellas.  I cannot believe how much bird life is around Goulburn - just in general they are everywhere.

I really like this photo.  I guess it is one of the caretakers cottages at the caves.  It could have been built at any time.

There once was a brownie...

And I ate it last night!  It was delicious and I don;t really feel bad about it at all because yesterday was such a healthy day otherwise.

For the dinner I was asked to I took the Lemon and Fennel Coleslaw which was yum (though I did cook the fennel in some water because I know not everyone likes its string anise taste).

I discovered the most delicious thing ever yesterday (beside the brownie) - cherry tomato halves with hummus and dill on top.  I could have eaten 20 (I stopped at six).

Todays menu is:

B - Fruit Salad

- Nettle Tea

- Savory Quinoa

MT - Pink Grapefruit Juice - fresh

L - Soup with zesty avocado mayo and crudités

AT  - Bowl of grapes

D  - Aduki Bean Bake with Broccoli and Snow Peas

I am thinking that my bog is pretty boring without any pictures so I will try to take some more pictures of what I'm eating.

Review and Menu

Well my goal for yesterday was too get everything specified and I did up to a point...  

I went to a movie yesterday and knew that I would want some popcorn and peanut m&ms!  So instead I took a small thermos of brown rice with umeboshi and gomashio.  I thought that was pretty good of me.  But the menu doesn't seem to have any grains in it after Morning Tea (MT) - oh well!

Dinner at Mum's was lovely.  By the time I got there I had a serous headache from lack of caffeine and sugar.  But I did have a glass of lovely wine (red) and a bit of cheese on a biscuit.  Mum made a vegetarian curry with rice.  And.......  Key Lime Pie... which I had never had but was delicious and so easy to make (whoops).

So hopefully today - is back on track

Day 3

B - Nettle Tea

  - Strawberry Smoothie

MT - Celery and Tomatoes topped with Hummus

L - Baked Sweet Potato

- Beetroot Salad

AT - Handful of raw almonds

D - Again have been invited to a friends so will take Lemon and Fennel Coleslaw (specified).   The other thing for dinner is White Bean Soup.  I haven't decided if I should take this yet as well.  It might seem rude.

So today my challenges are going out for breakfast and dinner and trying to keep of track as much as possible.

Another New Day

After a weekend of hideously bad eating, today I have started the Dr Gillan Ultimate Health PLan.  It goes for 28 days.  Hopefully I can stick with it for that long.  So I am going to post ll about it so I feel more accountable.

The first thing to do is to list my goals:

• I want to get rid of the dark circles under my eyes.
• I want my skin to glow
• I want to stop wasting so much food
• I want to be able to fall asleep and wake up more easily
• I want to reduce my cellulite
• I want better circulation.

So today I started.  I haven't followed everything exactly.  I did have some coffee (a small plunger worth!) and I didn't have the proper breakfast as I didn't have all the ingredients yet.  The food today was nice and tasted yummy and didn't take long to make at all.  I couldn't eat the specified 100g of oats for breakfast and I was hungry later.  I also didn't eat the afternoon tea because I couldn't be bothered even though I was hungry. 

So my goal for tomorrow is no coffee and eat everything specified - although some of the stuff is out of season so I am going to substitute - and I'm going to Mum's for tea.

Tomorrow the menu is:

B - Water

- Dandelion Tea

- Berry Smoothie

MT -Bowl of grapes

L - Miso Soup

- Avocado and PIne Nut Salad

AT - Crudities with Hummus and Dill

D - Mums (but listed is poached Monkfish with Tarragon and Spinach and Tomato Salad)

Changes

Wow!

After only a few days away, everything is changing.

The other night I heard a radio interview where the economic downturn was being discussed and everything like that and the economics professor said that it might not feel like recession to everybody.  I thought, well apart from a few students dropping out of lessons, everything is going well for me.  I guess he's right.  My best friend left her job and was unable to get another one (which hasn't happened to her before), and I don't see do many positions being advertised around.

The other blogs that I read, however have been hit by the recession or have felt the effects of it.  What does one say to these people (who you count as friends) when you don't really know them?  I want to wish them luck and let them know that I am sure I am not only one sending out good thoughts for them.

I have never really considered this online community differently from the communities I am part of in "real life".  Actually, no that's not true - because I wouldn't reveal a lot of what I write here to people I work with or even my family (apart from the Beau).  But I feel comfortable among this group of "strangers/friends" to give a voice to my feelings.

So I guess this post is more about saying "thanks" for the chance to talk and explore my thoughts and ideas that I wouldn't otherwise be able to investigate and for knowing that there are people who I don't really know that are interested in the same things as me and that I'm not alone.

xo

Cocktail Cabinet

What is allowing e the freedom to make a different drink everyday without having to leave the house?  Why, it's my Art Deco cocktail cabinet of course.

I have a little problem you see.  For some reason I seem to have to won every food and drink staple just-in-case something happens.  Like, World War 3 or all the shops close or something like that.  My mother and grandmother are exactly the same.

Lately, I have been trying to only stock items that I can make healthy meals with (or healthy, happy-making drinks).

My cocktail cabinet is from an op-shop and features, a pop-top lid and two sets of shelves and three draws.  I have no idea what it is made from but I do so love the curved edge.

Here are some pictures of my cocktail cabinet (I'm too embarrassed to post my pantry or fridge).

Sunday Dinner and Drinks

Today it was sesame prawn toast and Buck's Fizz for lunch.  I really enjoyed both of these.  And now have the happy prospect of the rest of the champagne for the rest of my Sunday afternoon!

The movie that Buck's Fizz is paired with Top Hat (1935) and can be found on page 76 of Hollywood Cocktails (Bounty Books)

Saturday Dinner and Drinks

From the book Hollywood Cocktails.  Published by Bounty Books

Here are the photos from dinner and drinks last night.

I made a brown rice pilaf and a mint julip.  I can't say that I enjoyed the Julep all that much but I can understand how others would.

The movie that the Julep is featured with is "The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941) which I haven't seen.  I thought that the fresh mint taste of the Julep was a great contrast to the richly spiced rice

.

Holidays

I am now officially on holidays!  This feels like it has been the longest term ever (11 weeks) especially as I had my practicum in the middle of it, Eisteddfod and the Beau is away.

This weekend, my brother is on a surfing trip up North so I have the apartment to myself for the whole weekend.  I also do not have to do anything tomorrow apart from a reading a Church  but that finishes at 9.30 am.

Here is a list of all the things I want to get done these holidays:

• Paint some part of our apartment - except no one likes the colours I do
• See Harry Potter  and the Half-Blood Prince
• Pass me DET interview with flying colours
• Spend some time with my Beau
• Get my tax-return done
• Get all my AMEB notes for students done (I have 13 doing exams - my most ever)
• Finish my reading for university next semester - one subject to go!!!!
• Have my 50s Fair outfit planned
• Spend some time driving wherever I like and looking at Op Shops
• Document through photographs different vintage-inspired outfits I can put together.
• Do all the mending in my mending basket
• Finally complete the curtains for my little brother and sisters playhouse (we're into the second year).
• Have decided on somewhere to have our wedding
• Try a different cocktail every day from my Hollywood Cocktail book.
• Document everything and post about it.

I remember when I was younger I would always keep a journal and a mood board with pictures that inspired me or wrappers/postcards/coasters etc from things I did that I wanted to remember.  When I started at uni, studying music composition and got my first apartment, my creativity was channelled into decorating and composing music.  It is only now (3 years after finishing uni) that I a feeling the need to keep track of inspiring things and ideas.  

I know my blog is a bit all over the shop about what it s about - but I guess that is what life is like at the moment.  I have school, personal life, wedding plans, vintage interests, dreams about the future and they don't quite all seem to mesh yet.  I know that I do try to keep most of them apart (for example teaching and my personal life) but it would be nice to feel like I can be myself all the time at work.

A Very Vintage Day

I had such a nice day today.  Only a few hours of work and the rest play.

I had to do band assessments for all my Junior band students today and they did so well.  It's really nice to know that they are putting in such an effort.

After that I went to two op-shops and got things at both.  Lately I have been looking for some accurate 50s style skirts.  I love pictures of girls wearing shirts belted with a pencil-style skirt.  I just cannot find any skirts that sit at the right spot or that fit me.  Since I have become vegetarian, I have lost some weight - though not through anything else (I actually cancelled my gym membership) and now when I belt my skirts, the skirt slips form under then belt!  I do not understand how women's skirts stayed in the same place with slips and everything else.    The picture on the left is from Icons: 50s Fashion published by Taschen.

So, I got two skirts that are

Winter weight and hopefully will fit (at $3 each I could not be bothered trying them on).  I also got a little jacket top thing.  It's not a cardigan but not a proper jacket either.

After going to the op-shops I then went on a picnic lunch with some of my family and

 my favourite puppy dog, Lucy.  I haven't been to a BBQ in ages and the sun was out, so it was a nice chance to ctach up with everyone.

This afternoon, I have been meaning to do a whole lot of things and I have done some of them.  They included baking this pear and prune loaf (Symply Too Good to Be True 5).  

Weekend

The Beau will be home in...... hopefully less than 2 hours so we can keep our dinner date.   I am very excited to see him.

Today I went with my Mum and Grandparents to the new Salvation Army store at Mona Vale.  It is huge.  I thought that moving to new premises would mean that they lost all the good things they had in the old store but they didn't.  I bought too much.  I got three tablecloths, some sewing odds and ends a beautiful summer dress in pale pink cotton eyelet, a lemon-yellow winter peignoir, and a beach wrap that is lovely and warm.

However,

I didn't the get the original silk 50s dress that I saw there.  I was almost in tears when I couldn't get the zipper done up at the side.  It was the first "real" fifties dress that I have found and tried on.  I was arguing in my mind wether I should have just bought because it was so amazing but I don't think it would have been worn and it was too fragile to try and alter it.  My Grandma said that having on a girdle wouldn't help either so....  I let it go (sniff).  It may very well always be he one that got away.

We are going with our (my favourite) friends to an Indian restaurant in Freshwater that apparently always gets good reviews (i'll let you know).  This will be the first time that I have been to Indian while being a vegetarian so I am looking forward to it.  I'm sure that they will have lots to chose from as some Hindu people are vegetarian.

Other than that for the weekend we don't have much planned apart from working tomorrow, but it's only one week out from Winter holidays so I think I'll survive.

Back to normal

Today is my first back at my old life - that is tutoring and conducting  at different places throughout the day.  So needless to say I do clock up some miles.  

However there are also times, like this morning hen I get to have a few hours in the morning after my first job, back at home.  I really to relish this time, not really to relax, but to get errands done or cleaning or like today work on my accounts and finish p jobs from yesterday.

So this morning I have:

•  been to the petrol station
• finished my make-up
• taken pictures
• worked out how to charge the camera - just change the batteries!
• organised my music for the week
• spent some time with coco
• drunk a whole pot of coffee; and
• still have some time left over.

I am really looking forward to my holiday - end of next week.  Not that I am going anywhere, but I can finish ordering the apartment and going through things.  I have found with my Beau away, I am getting more things done.  I don't know if it because I want to spend time with him or because I am trying to distract myself now - probably a bit of both.  

The pictures today are of my hair and outfit for today  not a true vintage outfit - but it does remind me of a late 40s silhouette for work - and of the friands I made for morning tea last Friday for my last day of "work".