Op-Shop Shopping: To Wash or Not?

Today while thrift store shopping, I was faced again with a question that comes up every time I get something 'new' from an op-shop.  To wash or not?  And by washing I don't mean ever, I mean before you give it its first wear.  This question is clear cut to most people.  OF COURSE  you wash it!  There are some disgusting people out there!  You could get AIDS.  To others, it's just as obvious.  The op-shop probably does something to make it sanitary.  It can't be that dirty.  I'll wash it eventually but right now, I have somewhere to go and this looks great on me.  

I'm a little ashamed to say that for me, I walk the middle line.  I wish I was clear cut about this.  I wish I could tell you that every time I buy second hand, I don't put it near my body unless it has had a good, hot round in the washing machine.  But I don't.  It's really all circumstancial.  If I happen to do a load of laundry before I wear the new addition to my wardrobe, it gets washed.  If I have somewhere I want to wear it to and don't have laundry planned in-between, I go for it.  Gross? Maybe, but I can think of worse things. 

I guess in this area of my life I have high standards when I have the time. 

What about you?

(As much as I try to not take others photography, this is from Frankie magazine)

The Smell Of Basil

Zoe just cooked the perfect batch of pancakes and now I’m sitting in my room breathing in the fresh basil that sits in a jar on my bookshelf. Days off from our normal jobs can be so liberating for your heart. You could spend all day in your crusty pajamas or you could look at your freedom as an adventure to be created. Sometimes the simple surroundings of your home town can bring the new perspectives that you have needed for some time.

After coming home from overseas I’ve spent the last few weeks really making a conscious effort to make the most of my free time and to look for the possibilities of each day. I don’t think that God really intended us to be so busy that we missed out on the beautiful things around us, He wanted His flowers to be smelt and wondered at and the ocean to roar in our ears. So with these things on my mind I ventured outdoors and took a bus.

Living by the sea is an amazing privilege and fortunately for me my town is full of creative people. As you walk down the main street, close to the art school the alleyways are covered in art. Though the majority can sometimes be very average and it can all seem like a mess, but then you find a small idea to be cherished, a tiny stencil of Batman and Robin scaling the window of a run down shop front. Someone had put that there for it to be found, not necessarily in plain sight. The little characters make you smile at the idea of super heroes and their representation of good overcoming evil in the regular city streets.

Sometimes you need to sit on your own with a good soy chai warming your insides to appreciate your own thoughts and the ideas of your heart. As I sat sipping my drink at a café the other day, a man walked by under the window I was sitting at with a box full of fresh basil. The smell overcame me, therefore leading to my new pleasure of leaving basil in my bedroom with the hope of making vego pasta with it later this week. The oil tankers on the horizon seem strangely romantic and normally I would never notice these things because I am rarely on my own.

Simple things can always relieve the complicated things of our days, and there is always greatness reflected in the scenery around us. We should really be taking more days off, and it does not mean you’re being lazy. What new things can be created to leave your mark in a public place? Beauty is created to be given away and then you need to seek it out again.

Do not worry.

courtesy of Miss Kayla Norris

portobella

i am a sucker for mushrooms. and ricotta cheese. 

got this deliciousness from 'Snow',

the cafe/bakery that christina used to work at!

dusk last night

Last night we went on a picnic to farewell our friend Wing. This is what the sky looked like at dusk.

To much love to be a review: The Avett Brothers

 not sure who took this photo but it's from a random internet search.  Good job You.

So I had in mind to write a review. To tell you all about what it was like to see the Avett Brothers live.

However, that kind of seems lame! I don’t even read reviews!  I do like stories though, and so I am going to tell you a story and its not going to be about the show. It will be all about the music of the Avett brothers and how I’m in to it.

Sitting somber desperate to fill my ears and soul with something distracting, I skimmed through all folders on his ipod. I finally hit playlists.

“Songs for me and my girlie.”

My heart hit the back of my rib my cage.

Song 1: Swept Me Away (sentimental version) – The Avett Brothers.

What followed was a bunch of instrumental jazz music, some Etta James…. and, actually just a lot of jazz music and songs from the 60s. Hmm.

Although I had listened to the Avett Brothers numerous times before, from this time on I heard their music in a whole different way (Ever feel like your life has a soundtrack!?). Their songs would be the markers for so many events in my life, with their lyrics often causing me to consider many things of the heart.

Left on Laura Left on Lisa - Four Thieves Gone.  After seeing it performed, just banjo and voice, always reminds me of Alaska

Living of Love – Introducing Emotionalism. I would listen to it whenever I felt like bitterness would begin to creep into my heart.

Gift for Melody Anne – Mignonette. Helped me to not make some real dumb arse decisions.

And now. Weight of Lies, another from the album Introducing Emotionalism. It's helping me realize I cannot run away, it never works.

These are not even my favourite songs these are just the songs that have seared my heart. For me, The Avett Brothers are stories and soul. I will risk it and say I feel their lyrics are true. They are not just words artistically placed in verse and chorus to sound cool. They are words that have been lived. That’s how I like my music. A story, an insight, something to take me away.

Listen to this band. I would suggest to start with The Gleam, Second Gleam and Carolina Jubilee. I feel you get a good mix if you were to start with these three. However Introducing Emotionalism and Mignonette are super popular, as will be their latest, I and Love and You.

My favourite is Four Thieves Gone.

The end!

Oh, in regards to the show, the cello player.. in the words of my friend Emily, 

 “Gods gift to the cello?!?”

See them when they come to your town.

Homeless And On The Wrong Side Of The Border

It’s a perfect rainy day in my hometown of Newcastle, Australia, and Joel is on my mind…

He lives in downtown Tijuana, Mexico right near the San Diego border. We were two people from two entirely different worlds, but somehow he still trusted me with what he had to say. He had a lifetime of experience and my life at twenty-four had only just begun.

His home was nothing more than scrap wood and some tarp to protect against the cold bitter winter rain, which had turned most of the streets to small rivers. He came out to greet me and helped me pick up rubbish around the square at Zona Notre. We took our opportunity to give him some soup and he began to tell us about his life.

Prison for seventeen years had consumed the majority of his life. Even through problems with drugs and being in and out of prison he had still managed to fall in love, marry and have children. His wife and children remain in the United States now.

He spent most of his life in the States and after being released from prison he was deported to Mexico. He struggles as he can not speak much Spanish. He explains to me that on this particular day there are not as many people around because the policia had been by and taken many people in. There at the square, in the middle on Tijuana, people normally come from all over for hot soup and it was so unusual to see so few people. Everything seems so grey in the rain, even Joel’s jacket, a dull navy reflects the day. Today, Joel had money from his wife to pay off the police, not everyone in the square is that lucky. The police have the power to plant drugs on you if you can not give them reason enough to leave you alone.

He rubs his balding head, his face twitches as he continues to share about life after prison. His moustache is one most boys would dream of. Now, being on the street, he shares with me that he is happy to be outdoors. Being institutionalized for such a long time had left him desperate for free air and open spaces. He clings to his new found freedom and free will. Still he struggles with drugs, they tie him to the street.

His appearance touches my heart, his frankness and vulnerability to share with strangers speaks to my spirit. I wish I could be this unashamed and honest about the things I struggle with day to day. To be available to share life experience with people has more value than we care to realize. Think about Joel, then think about his situation, and then think about your own. 

Take a look through my window