Just a quick message from Sydney, where Noel, thebluebells & I have arrived for Tori's show on Monday night! ♥ We are here for 4 days, in an amazing apartment that has the most gorgeous view from our 66th floor. It is so nice to be away, with 2 of my most favourite people, in a city I adore. Tori, shopping, food... I love trips away. ♥

I am really happy at the moment. I have had a wonderful weekend; reconnecting with old friends (hello, do you remember who I am?) & spending time with Noel & doing things that have been lingering on my to-do list for ages. Listening to wonderful music & watching political documentaries & even starting some wedding planning! I cooked a Jamie Oliver potato bake last night to have with dinner, and although I used too much stock so it took twice as long to cook, it turned out beautifully. Millie said to me when I was bemoaning the fact it would take 3 hours to cook, don't worry, you can try recipes and if they don't work, then you try them again! because she is a smart little thing & sometimes I need a 10-year old's wisdom.

I went & saw a play on Friday night with an old friend, & later on that night a discussion with another friend (who was in the play) turned into a question of whether I would ever be interested in directing again; the theatre company likes to introduce new directors to its shows. I felt like a door that was once firmly closed had started to open again; but I shut that door for a reason, right? I don't think it's ever something I could do again, but 8, 9 years ago, the theatre world was my life. That was another lifetime ago. I briefly entertained the thought of stepping into it again, but I don't think it's for me anymore. I would love for it to be, but I am changed; I am happy with the way things are right now. I am leaving that door closed.

I feel very content & happy at the moment. I love my job & my work; I am excited for the future & eager to be challenged. Little things fill me with joy, like finding live recordings of shows by my favourite artists & seeing The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus next weekend (I am almost more excited about this than I was about Harry Potter!) & delicious snacks & making packages for friends. There is less than 3 weeks until thebluebells & Noel & I start travelling to see Tori. I am so blessed & grateful for everything I have.

In exactly 24 hours, I will be finished with my Masters degree.

Today I discovered a place in my town where I could buy Yankee Candles. I found it very hard to resist buying candles of every scent they had in stock. I also placed a HUGE Amazon order, as my final end-of-semester tradition/celebration.

I am officially on a shopping ban from now on. Um, except for possible new BPAL oils from the update at the end of this week...

But apart from that! NO MORE SHOPPING. I am writing this here as a reminder to myself :P

Good things:

♥ thebluebells will be here this weekend!! I haven't seen her since February, and I am so excited to spend the weekend with her. I have not had any time to see friends at all this semester, but we have had this weekend planned for months now. We are planning a weekend of visiting bookstores & markets & eating good food. PERFECT.

♥ We also got our tickets for Kate Miller-Heidke today; she will be performing in Adelaide the night before Tori is, in November, and thebluebells just happens to arrive on the same day, so of course we are going to see her as well. Third row centre tickets! November is going to be amazing - 3 Tori shows in 3 cities, and a Kate show as well. Though thebluebells is actually seeing Tori 4 times and Kate 2 times that month ;] But I am very happy with the shows that Noel & I will be seeing - it is going to be such a wonderful way to celebrate my degree being finished.

♥ I got a package full of BPAL decants from the recent Halloween update - fxck, I love BPAL. edenssixthscent always has such great decant circles too. I got decants of most of the scents in that update, except for a couple which I went straight for bottles, and a few that didn't sound like me at all; I'm going to have fun testing these out over the next few weeks. I also might have placed another BPAL order today too...

♥ I am also addicted to Villainess Smack now - delicious foaming scrubs, containing 4 layers of scent which you can select & combine from a list. These scrubs are gorgeous - and the scent possibilities are amazing. I received my first 2 last week (one, a combination of various sugary scents, the other, a fruity, berry selection), and just placed an order for, um, 4 more today. Plus some other bits & pieces. My argument is that I'm supporting independent businesses...

♥ Noel & I had a gorgeous picnic dinner on Friday night: 4 different types of cheeses, turkish bread, smoked salmon, kabana, dried fruit, nuts, crackers. It was so good. I am so looking forward to spending more time at the markets and buying more locally produced foods once my exams are over.

♥ Scented candles & mixes & new Tori bootlegs & planning a new Amazon order [end-of-exam tradition!] & Noel & looking forward to summer are getting me through the days. 21 days to go...