DAILY BITS

So today is the first day, of the first week, of my new at-home working hours. I am officially a full-time at-home employee! My 2 days a week office has closed & the company have moved the positions to their WA Head Office, but lucky me I get to continue as normal from home. (Plus I get a new Mac coming this week, excitement overload!!)...So to celebrate my new office hours, I'm going to share some of my "daily bits" of what keeps me busy day to day. Including the best part of my day - spending my weekday evenings with Simon & the felines! Enjoy x

9:00 (morning smoko)

10:00 (new product labels for my awesome customers)

11:00 (celery & peanut butter snacks)

12:00 (working on some mario invites for a friend)

13:00 (updating my photo frames)

14:00 (deliveries deliveries)

18:00 (my favourite wine + a free wine bag = happy Jess)

19:00 (this one keeps us busy at night, wanting to come in, then go out, in, then out! Drives us crazy!)

20:00 (chicken pot-pie for dinner, with a touch of love)

(perfect winter meal!)

Ciao x

GRAMPIANS

Last weekend Simon & I packed up the car & headed east! Ever since our failed camping trip over the Easter break (including such fails as purchasing a brand new $600 tent that broke into a heap within minutes after a few gushes of wind. Nothing like a tent made out of sticks, that mother nature will huff & she'll puff until she blows that tent down!!), we promised ourselves that we would give camping another go before the year ended.
So we left town at sunrise on Wednesday morning and drove 6 hours to the Grampians National Park, in Victoria. We decided to enter the park from one side and drive to the opposite side (only 15km but very windy, so took about an hour!), but the drive was amazing. I guess you'd describe it as a mountain range, with waterfalls, lakes, forests, deep cliffs and more. A hikers delight! We set up camp as soon as we arrived at the Plantation Camp Site (about 15minutes drive from Halls Gap - the main town centre of the Grampians). Lucky for us, the camp site was empty, thanks to us arriving mid week. After such a long drive, and the fact it had already got dark by the time we set up the tent, we spent the rest of the night eating our cheese platter for dinner, drinking port, and stoking the fire. It was blissful!
We woke to kookaburras, and a kangaroo scoping the camp site for some food. That day we got active! Walked to Mackenzie Falls, the Balconies Cliffs, the Grand Canyon, and then when we ran out of breath we headed back to our campsite and chilled out with a magazine & marshmallows for the rest of the arvo/night. Oh and we still had the whole campsite to ourselves that night apart from a small group that arrived just before we went to bed.
By Friday morning it was time to leave for our next leg of the road trip - Jan Juc (next to Torquay on the Great Ocean Road) to pay a visit to one of our SA friends Jo! Her other half had left for Italy a couple of weeks prior for some work, before she was meeting him over there in July. Well let's just say I think she enjoyed the company, going by our daily hangovers! We had an amazing time with the gang, as we always do!
Sunday came around and it was time to start the trip home (about 10 hours worth). We originally decided to drive along the Great Ocean Road and then take the highway from Port Fairy. Well, we did do that, but let's just say we weren't exactly in the best state to enjoy it! We drove straight past almost every tourist spot, including the Twelve Apostles, and the gloomy rainy day didn't help either. We stayed the night at the old historic Inn, called the Seacomb House, doubling as a Comfort Inn and a backpackers. It was a really nice place, but once again (& shamefully too) we were too hungover to fully enjoy it!
By Monday afternoon we were safe & sound back home on Old Pelham Street. The trip went way too quickly, as they always do, but gosh did we have fun!!

{grampians}

{birdseye view}

{jan juc}

{home jane!}

WARMING THE PORT

i have been meaning to blog about the port for so long. i started working in the port in 2008 and only then discovered the true beauty of this place. it's one of those places that until you take the time to walk around and discover it yourself, you don't fully appreciate it.

oh, so the port i'm referring to is port adelaide, a historic part of adelaide that hasn't always had the best reputation. but over the last few years the place has had a face-lift, and there is a new excitement in adelaide that is creating a new appreciation for this part of town. just like it's marketing campaign, "the port is happening!". new cafes, new shops, tourism attractions, the best warehouse style living in adelaide, and much more. plus, everything is done in celebration of this historic area (most of the pubs are still in their original buildings!)

this morning i came into work to find something so spectacular. i am lucky enough to work on the corner of Lipson Street, probably one of the most celebrated streets in the port. it is a quiet one way street, lined with cafes, shops, and complete with old style street lamps, posts & sidewalk ropes. over the weekend Lipson Street was transformed through knit. yes knit. trees, lamposts, signs, and benches are now covered in bright coloured knit. the project is called "warming the port" and aims to bring alive the port and attract more people to come and visit. so, if you're in adelaide, then do come down and check out this amazing display.

SALVAGE THE SALVOS

i had a fun half hour in the local Salvos today, and scored some pretty great finds. but it's become known to me during my past few op shopping trips that the op shops are struggling. i striked up a conversation with one shop owner a few weeks ago (it was at a city-fringe Salvos and i was curious as to why the items were a little more expensive in this shop compared to others - the answer to this was that price is based on location, what?!). anyway, i also found out that some stores are struggling to stay open due to lack of business. when i mentioned this to a Vinnies lady, she said that stores like Rivers and Kmart etc buy bulk and can sell at these ridiculously low prices, and that op shops can't compete.

the concept that op shopping could be a thing of the past has me worried. not only for my own selfish needs, but also for the behind-the-scenes reasons that these stores operate for - to help people. homeless, financial problems, addictions, suicide prevention, family issues, gambling and more! and not to mention the thousands of volunteers who work at the stores. so, i guess my post today is about pleading your inner op-shopper to get back out there. next time you drive past one, stop and have a look, surprise op shop finds are the best. next time you log on to your fav online store, turn off the computer and hit up the op shops instead. seriously take $20 with you and just have a ball.

check out this website to find your nearest op shop: http://opshop.org/

here's my $20 worth from today:

OLYMPIC STYLE

This week has been a buzz with the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney. I'm happy to admit I've been spending every minute on Instagram following the buzz, and why not when such beauties as Lara Bingle & Whitney Eve are on my Instagram radar! But seeing the hottest and craziest looks hitting the catwalk isn't what I'm excited about the most - no, instead, it's all about the unveiling of the 2012 Olympic Team opening ceremony outfits!

One word comes to mind - vintage! I've been a vintage fan since 2003 (yes I can pin point the year exactly, it's when I had a dress up theme party called "back of your closet" where we had to find items of clothing that looked like they had been hidden in the closet for years! Well this whole exercise made me so happy, exploring the op shops for the best finds, and then wearing each garment with pride knowing it's having a second chance to shine! My addiction started from there, wanting to bring back to life the amazing op shop item I found!) ... Anyway, I was so happy to open the morning newspaper and see the new design for our Olympic team, and secretly wished at that moment that I was somehow a genetically talented gymnist and could enrol for a late admission!

Sportscraft are the ones behind this amazing new look. A vintage inspired forest green sports jackets teamed with crisp white drill skirts for women, and preppy white trousers for men. There is also Volley who have created a new version of their iconic volley-shoe for the Games, with a white shoe featuring green and navy woven trim, green laces and a green leather tongues.

For once I may be willing to watch the Olypmic opening ceremony this year (well at least they go in alphabetical order right?!)