Dreaming of Vintage Treasures

   Ahh back to my beach days. These photos were taken in late January when mum and I wanted to squeeze in another trip to the beach before I had to return to work.   On the way there, we picked up a few snacks from the supermarket and ate a Vietnamese banh mi roll with lots of coriander and chilli - yum! It's one of my favourite take-out foods to eat. We sat by the beach, soaking up some sunshine, gazing at the waves and savouring each bite.    It was so nice visiting the beach on a weekday. It's quiet and people seem to enjoy a slower pace of life. People read by the water, grandparents take their grandchildren out for fish and chips, tradies park by the beach on their work break and eat their lunch in their cars. Mum's outfit details: Swimming cap - recent eBay purchase that mum is thrilled with! Sunglasses- an op-shop find. Dress- borrowed from my wardrobe.   After mum and I finished eating, we drove to the other side of Williamstown beach, sat at a picn...

  Thank you for all your messages in my last post. Victoria is now out of its 5 day lock-down. Thank goodness the government acted swiftly before it got too out of hand. Although a sudden lock-down shocks people, I think it ultimately protects people. My students did 3 days of learning at home (Monday to Wednesday) and were happy to return on Thursday, as were many teachers. It's very hard sitting still and being on a computer all day. I got an eye headache on Monday and  had a flashback to last year's lock-down where looking at a screen all day really hurt my eyes. I must be getting old! Haha. Back to January, when I was still on holidays living a happy beach life. Mum wanted have a day out the beach after being inspired by a lady on Instagram who post swimming videos and the benefits of cold, salty water for your body. So off we went, bringing some plums and nectarines from our fruit trees, some beach towels and books, of course. We lathered up with sunscreen as I didn't...

Mum and I had a nice day out back when I was still on summer holidays. We drove out to Daylesford to have a day out in the country. At 10.00am we arrived at the vintage Mills Market and browsed the hundreds of small stalls for 3 hours. I was fascinated with a huge clock that had a statue hanging off the clock hand. It was at least 6 metres tall, reaching the top of the warehouse roof! I thought I wouldn't find anything to take home with me, which is totally okay. I enjoy looking just as much as purchasing. Although in the last isle, I spotted a bangle for $10, listed as resin. I thought it might be bakelite, but the sniff and rub test didn't give off the usual chemical odor which determines if it's bakelite or not. Despite this, it certainly looked like my other bakelite bangles, so I decided to risk it and buy it anyway. Mum trying on some vintage hats. It was so hot that day, 32 °C, so we stopped midway through browsing and shared a vegetable panini and ice coffee....

  Good morning! At the time of writing, it is 8.30am here in Melbourne. I like writing blog posts on Saturday mornings so I can reflect on the week and prior weekend that has passed. Last Saturday, I had a major chocolate eclair craving and decided to try making some myself. I used a profiterole recipe for the dough and it turned out great! On Sunday, we had a BBQ with friends and family at a park in Geelong. Everyone made some food and brought it and we had a fun time catching up. I have many fond memories of Christmas Eves spent all together at our house when I was growing up. This is our annual January gathering to celebrate many in this group who have a birthday in January.   Here's my best friend since childhood, Renee. I loved her blue stripy jumper that her mum knitted and her pink hair that she dyed for breast cancer awareness. I love catching up with you, Ney! (Xxx) At some point, we decided to go for a walk around the river to digest the delicious food we'd indulge...

  The last of my beach holiday posts is here!  Much like our last holiday , this one came to a sudden halt. It started out like a normal day. My family and I browsed some of the Eden shops - the hippie shop, a new op-shop and the $2 shop. We visited the lookout, a gorgeous place where you can see a 180 degree view of the ocean. We took photos, gazed at the water, watched boats glide by and heard overseas holidaymakers chattering away with their lovely accents and languages.   We went to the Fisherman's Club for lunch, a small way to say 'thank you' to the small business that gave us shelter when we had to evacuate from bush-fires last year. We spotted the pokies machines area where we'd had to sleep on the carpet with hundreds of other people. The room will be forever etched in my mind as it was such a frightening situation but seeing it in the daylight was very strange as I almost didn't recognise it.     We walked upstairs to the eating area and I umm-ed and ...

  The holiday fun continues... My sister, mum and I drove down to the Eden wharf to buy some mussels fresh off the boat. Turned out, there weren't any mussels available. So we walked across the wharf and bought some oysters and lobsters from a nice fisherman.    Mum cooked spaghetti with cherry tomato sauce and we had the seafood as well. Soooo delicious! The lobster was a rare treat. I think I've only tasted it once before. We thought it tasted like a cross between a crab and a prawn. Very, very nice. I watched an episode of Antiques Roadshow (a nice routine I slipped into while away) and played chess with Dad (defeated, The Queen's Gambit has my sister and dad hooked!). Later, my sister and I went for a walk on the beach. The next day started with yoghurt and mango for breakfast and continued with a BBQ lunch. Alex and I swam in the beach, which was so lovely. I've had some wonky bathers in the past but these maroon ones are indeed the best and most flattering I...