scarlet's walk

"i'm starting with the man in the mirror"

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:20:57 GMT

Our phone line has been down since Thursday night, and has only been repaired today. I feel like I have a million things to say - about work, Michael Jackson's death, the kids, the books I'm reading, how much I miss travelling - but I don't even know where to begin anymore. So many words spilling about in my head. I'll try to update properly soon.

"I'm awake and I've been losing sleep"

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:28:44 GMT

I have been up since 6:30 this morning studying, &am currently feeling quite productive. I have been having awful headaches the last 4 days; I spent all of Sunday sick in bed, with the nauseous kind of migraine, and it seemed to carry on through Monday & Tuesday. I feel better today though; hopefully it won't return. I have way too much work to do this week.

I am eager for exams to be over. I miss having time for myself, to do creative things and enjoy working on projects without worrying about the time. There are dozens of letters I want to write to friends, to some of you; scrapbooks I want to finish, emails to catch up on, friends to actually see face-to-face (it's been much too long). Only a week & a half more to go. I always start to feel around this time of the semester that I'm going to lose my sanity, but I'm trying to remember to breathe. I get a little sick of my own company during the day though.

I am working on a new amazon order & blog posts & finding inspiration from other creative people. It's getting me through.

happy birthday daddy

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:55:03 GMT

It would have been Dad's birthday today.
Fuck, I miss him so much.
&you know... I still really don't believe sometimes that he's gone. It's been more than 2 1/2 years now, &I still think sometimes that he's just away, but not gone. He's still coming back.

-----

I was talking to a friend at work recently, &I told her about Dad dying, and how I just threw myself into work to cope. She said to me, "but you've dealt with it, right?" and I suppose the right answer is that I don't know if I have; I've blocked it out, pushed it away because if I truly deal with it, it means that I accept that he's gone forever. &I'm not ready to do that.

Happy birthday Daddy. I love you always.

"ophelia... you must remember"

Tue, 12 May 2009 10:30:42 GMT

My willpower is terrible; of course I've had to download the leak of Tori's latest album, "Abnormally Attracted to Sin". I know a lot of songs have either leaked or already been performed live, but I managed to resist downloading about half of the leaked songs (particularly the ones with the visualettes, that were released last week). This is my first listen to the album in full & here are my initial thoughts...

Give: I really like this - it has a trip-hop vibe to it (it makes me think of Portishead's music in particular) & is dark & slightly seductive.
Welcome to England: This was the first leaked song I heard from this album, a few months ago, and I didn't particularly like it then; sadly, still not a fan. I feel like it's sort of... boring. For a Tori song, that's not a good thing.
Strong Black Vine: Not what I was expecting, I think I could like it after a few more listens though? I think it would be quite good live; it sounds too "produced" on the album but it could be amazing with just Tori and the pianos.
Flavor: This song has a Scarlet vibe - Scarlet Walk is my absolute favourite Tori album, so I think that's a compliment :]
Not Dying Today: This makes me think of carnivals & clowns & I have no idea why; maybe it's the drums. I think this would be great live, with Matt going crazy on drums.
Maybe California: Pretty. I like this ♥ Another song I think will sound gorgeous as a live solo.
Curtain Call: This one is gorgeous. I get an American Doll Posse vibe from it - slightly dark & haunting.
Fire To Your Plain: Another early leak that I haven't particularly loved; it might grow on me though, particularly live.
Police Me: Um... I need a few more listens I think. Guitar sounds good (wonder how it will sound live if they don't have a guitarist on this tour?)
That Guy: If I had heard this song just randomly, I wouldn't have guessed it was Tori. That doesn't make it bad, just... not a favourite.
Abnormally Attracted to Sin: Dark & subtle. I love this one. It's Isabel in an underground bar, hiding in the smoke. This is my favourite of the album so far ♥
500 Miles: I know a lot of fans don't like this song, but I think it's pretty & lovely.
Mary Jane: Not a favourite.
Starling: I love the word starling, and this song is gorgeous. Scarlet vibe mixed with something a little bit darker.
Fast Horse: Another song I think will be amazing live.
Ophelia: I started listening to this song last week & loved it, &I still do. Ophelia in the river but she will rise again. Another favourite.
Lady in Blue: Haunting & slightly seductive & moody.

It seems that in my first listen of the album, the recurring themes are "dark" and "I think this will sound better live". There are some really strong songs on here that I absolutely love (like the title track and Ophelia), but there's a lot of songs on here that don't really grab me. Then again, I didn't love "The Beekeeper" album until after I saw Tori perform the songs live, so perhaps a similar thing will happen here. My initial thoughts is that the album feels very over-produced; I think I might like most of the songs better when they are stripped back. I definitely don't hate this album, and I think this is a natural direction for her, following on from American Doll Posse. I am excited for bootlegs & live versions of all these songs; I am not expecting her to tour Australia this tour, but it would be wonderful if she did. I need to have a few more listens of this for sure :] ♥

wedding update

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:36:22 GMT

After months&months of people asking us, "how are your wedding plans coming along?", we're finally making some progress ;]

We have officially set the wedding date for April 17, 2010. Our wedding ceremony is going to be held at the International Rose Garden, in the Botanic Gardens, with our reception at the State Library, cocktail style:

the Rose Garden (when it's in bloom, all the gardens behind the arches are a field of pink petals ♥)

the Library room we are having our reception in! the whole room is floor-to-ceiling bookshelves!

We are actually excited now - roses&books! I think that is a good start to married life :]

Dreamwidth

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:28:45 GMT

I am not moving over to Dreamwidth but I know that a few of you are. I created an OpenID account over there so I can read the entries of those who do move over, so if you are/have/planning to move across to Dreamwidth, let me know your account names so I can add you?

My open ID is kisstheviolets.livejournal.com, so if you see that added to your list of watchers, it's me :)

"and it's true we are immune, when fact is fiction and tv reality"

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:49:13 GMT

I love 4 day weekends. However, I don't particularly love having to spend 4 day weekends writing law papers... which is mostly what I have been doing since Friday. I am trying to get it finished today, but then there are other papers I have to focus on & all the usual coursework readings & questions... I feel a bit overwhelmed at times, still. I am focusing so hard on my October finish date. I can't wait to have a life back, one that doesn't revolve around work&study, study&work.

As I was saying to a couple of friends this weekend, I come home from work & study for a few hours, almost every night. I spend entire weekends with books & lecture notes. My job is hard work on it's own, so to come home every night & start reading about legislation or accounting theory is extra difficult sometimes. October. October. "keep your eyes on her horizon"

But I have had some time off this weekend; I went out for dinner & a movie with 2 of my girlfriends on Saturday night, and yesterday afternoon Noel & I went for a drive to the coast. At the moment, I am downloading loads of amazing U2 bootlegs - I can't stop listening to different versions of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" in particular. ♥ ♥ Live music makes me soo happy.

&&oh! thebluebells & I may be overseas next year at the same time, and if we are, we are planning to meet up in Washington D.C., as well as maybe London and New York City if we can. It will depend on how our schedules work out, and if we can actually be in the same cities at the same time (as Noel & I are on a bit of a tight schedule because of work commitments). We want to visit Paris & Venice, Washington D.C., New York City & Hawaii as "must dos" on our honeymoon (April-May next year), and hopefully fit in London and a visit to Nova Scotia if we can, but it will definitely depend on how much time we can end up taking off work. I'm not feeling very hopeful about getting 6 weeks off to travel now. But I can't imagine going to Washington D.C. at least without my political-psychic-Tori twin! ♥

I don't celebrate Easter (although Noel & I did get up at 5:30am yesterday morning to hide eggs for the kids!), but I hope that those who do had a lovely weekend :]
Back to work now, &trying to get the rest of this paper done.

"when the words jump off my pen and into your pages"

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:38:43 GMT

I am reading too many books at once right now...

creativity, politics, food :]

&these are just the books I am actively reading. Fxck, I love books. I think if I had a whole week to do nothing but read what I wanted, I would be the happiest person in the world.

Maybe if I tried reading one book at a time I would finish things a lot quicker, but I am interested in so many different things, it's hard to stay focussed on just one topic at a time. Although, I think I do need some fiction books in there. Those are all non-fiction; I seem to be a lot fussier with novels.

What are you reading at the moment?

re-starting my old blog...

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:17:25 GMT

pssst:

Lace & Stars: a journal of pretty things

{because I need a creative outlet this year}

"right on time you get closer and closer"

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:37:34 GMT

I can not wait until October 16 - the day my Masters finishes [assuming, of course, I pass everything between now & then].

This working-full-time-&-doing-a-Masters-degree thing is seriously taking its toll right now.

tweeting...

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:41:29 GMT

I swore I wouldn't get a bloody Twitter, but I've never been very good at resisting online things to play with. Plus I can't resist "following" people like Neil Gaiman & Hillary Clinton & Kevin Rudd, haha.
[But I really do promise not to post twitter updates on my lj! What goes on twitter, stays on twitter!]

so, twitter.com/laceandstars !

&&:

View Poll: twitter!

phone networks

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:32:31 GMT

This is a question for the Australian girls on my friends list... what mobile phone network are you on?

[I'm on Telstra, but am contemplating buying a new phone & switching networks, either to Optus or Vodafone, but am not sure which yet. May be decided by where I can get the most value from "free time", ie, network-to-network calls...]

weekend away

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:25:35 GMT

We are home & all talked out; this weekend has been a whirlwind of meeting people & introductions & parties & family meals. It has been wonderful, but I am normally a pretty introverted person, and I don't always talk all the time, so this weekend has been a bit exhausting with constantly talking to so many new people. But I am not complaining! It was fabulous to finally meet Noel's mother, & his 3 older brothers & younger sister & their families (I suppose when we get married, the kids will be my nieces!); after so many years now of getting all their names mixed up, finally I have faces & real people to associate with those names. We met lots of Noel's old school friends, classmates & band members; some people he hadn't seen in over 20 years. There were lots of old memories & stories I hadn't heard before :] Noel took me around the town he grew up; his old houses, the schools, places he used to hang out. These are pieces of him that I finally got to share.

&I adored his family, and hope that maybe, we can go over there a little bit more often now, now that there are cheap flights available & his family seem to approve of me ;]

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:13:36 GMT

Noel & I are off to Tasmania today for the long weekend, so I can (finally!) meet his family :]

*is excited/nervous*

[I love weekend trips ♥]

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:04:51 GMT

I've spent all night messing around with my new blog, and realising how much I miss doing all that geeky coding stuff.

If I can get my blog ready to go by the time my next semester of uni starts, I'll be quite satisfied.

{I feel so inspired & filled with ideas & projects to work on at the moment, it's fabulous. I hope it continues.}

"you fall on your knees, well get back on your feet"

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:24:38 GMT

This is seriously the best thing to come home to after an exam &when you have a few extra days off work to enjoy :) Yay for well-timed Amazon love!

Despite a bit of a breakdown last night &fearing that I would fail my exam today, I think it actually went pretty well. I'd spent all week revising & taking notes & reading & doing problems [some days I was spending more than 12 hours at my desk revising, I was starting to go mad!], but self-doubt got the better of me last night, and I felt like I couldn't remember anything! There was too much that I just wasn't sure about... but somehow, none of the topics I was uncertain about were in the exam, and there were loads of questions on the things I did know about, so I was really very lucky! &relieved! So I'm certain I passed at least, and now I can relax & enjoy the few extra days off from work that I have now. I don't go back until next Thursday!

No work, no study... what am I going to do with myself?!

My amazon order filled with creative inspiration books arrived today, and I am very much looking forward to delving into these. Books by Sabrina Ward Harrison, SARK, Keri Smith & Jill Badonsky ♥ I have finally started working on a new zine, and am in the process of restarting my old Lace & Stars blog too. Plus I have a zillion letters to catch up on... I am determined to find new projects to work on &force myself to find creative outlets, because I really miss that feeling when you're working on something you love doing, just for fun.

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:47:27 GMT

I have 12 textbook chapters and a stack of practice exams to get through before Friday morning.
I also felt inspired enough to start writing my new zine tonight.

My sense of timing sucks entirely.

But maybe 2009 will be a more creative year after all.

"you've never seen fire until you've seen pele blow"

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:05:11 GMT

these fires are devastating :[
what kind of sick fuckers deliberately light fires like that... and then go back and relight them after they've been put out?

I feel so horribly sad reading about all the people who died, stories of people having to leave behind bodies of their relatives & friends in order to escape the same fate as flames surrounded them. oh, I can't imagine it :[

------

I have so much revision to get through before my exam on Friday, &I am panicking slightly because I don't know how I'm going to fit it all in.
So apologies for no comments etc; I just don't have a lot of time at the moment.

"they told you your music could reach millions"

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:11:51 GMT

The Ani concert last night was FANTASTIC. I loved it so much; she had so much energy & was absolutely amazing to watch & listen to live. Our front row seats were so good; we were right in front of her! She played so many fabulous songs - Shy, Alla This, Present/Infant, Napolean, Red Letter Year, November 4 (!! I was so happy she played that one especially), Untouchable Face, The Atom... and in between almost every song she talked to the audience, sharing random stories & memories & comments about the heat (!) Her music is so incredible live and she is so gorgeous & warm & just amazing.

It was the type of show where the lyrics & the drum beats & the energy from the stage get into your veins, and makes you feel alive. As though as long as you had that moment, nothing could hurt you again.

just show me a moment that is mine, it's beauty blinding and unsurpassed

and I don't think war is noble, and I don't like to think that love is like war

we took each other higher, then we set each other free

and I've got myself a new mantra, it says don't forget to have a good time

setlist! though she played 32 Flavours as the last encore song, which isn't on here

oh, leave me here surrounded
by everything that's real
far outside the boundaries
of the digitized ordeal
leave me here awake
leave me here to heal

"opened the fire door"

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:06:31 GMT

x. It is 45*C (113*F) here today. &it is going to be the same tomorrow, and over 40*C up until next Monday. Yes, summer has arrived in south australia. Thank god for airconditioning, & cold drinks with ice in them.

x. Noel & I are going to see Ani DiFranco tonight; we have front row seats, and I am wondering how Ani is coping with this heat :-\ Eek. We are going out for dinner shortly, before the show, and all I want to eat is icecream :P

x. Thankyou all so much for your meal suggestions - I am definitely going to add those to my "things to try"! &am definitely considering investing in a slow-cooker/crockpot.

x. I am way too hot & uncomfortable to write anything of substance right now; but there are so many of you that I miss.

dinner ideas

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:24:34 GMT

We need new meal ideas.

We have gotten into such a routine with our evening meals, and really, food should not be boring! However, I blame this more on a lack of time, rather than plain laziness; between us both working full-time during the week, me studying most nights & Noel's commitments to the kids (like picking Ben up from football training even on nights when they don't stay with us), spending ages preparing a meal is the last thing we feel like doing (or have time to do). Unfortunately, my imagination when it comes to food is rather limited, but I think it's time we introduced some new ideas.

So, a question for everyone: what do you have for dinner during an average week? What do you prepare when you come home from work, what are some of your favourites to cook when you don't really want to spend ages on one meal? We're not vegetarian so meat suggestions are welcome If you have them. Favourite recipes or suggestions are most definitely welcome! We just need some ideas to get us through another busy year...

"we have chosen hope over fear"

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:34:13 GMT

PRESIDENT OBAMA FTW!!

Obama in the White House!

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:27:50 GMT

I am getting up at 3am to watch the inauguration ceremony tonight :D
[&hoping I don't fall asleep in my 9am meeting tomorrow morning...]

"you fall into the wishing well"

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:16:31 GMT

After spending 2 beautiful summer days indoors, hunched over a computer & stack of articles & having twenty tabs open in Firefox researching things, I think I am finally finished with my economics assignment :] I need to reread it in the morning and make sure it does actually make sense though... after nearly 15 hours spent on it today, all the words are blurring in my mind. But having it almost done is a lovely relief. Even if I still have loads of other readings to catch up on this week.

To celebrate, tomorrow (today?) Noel & I are going to a bridal expo; I've never been to one before and even though we only want a small wedding, I wouldn't mind getting some ideas & quotes for photographers & things like that. Wedding planning has kind of halted for the moment, and I am hoping that tomorrow's expo will reignite our enthusiasm to plan it! I still like the idea of eloping though...

&the happiest thing this weekend? FINDING LIVE RECORDINGS OF 9 LILY HOLBROOK SHOWS ♥ ♥ ♥ I have literally been looking for 2 years for live recordings of any of her shows; I had one, that I loved so much, but I couldn't seem to find any others. Then last night I stumbled across a fabulous website that had these 9 shows - and the quality is really good too, really clear. so fucking happy. Bootlegs are my crack! I am uploading them for razorwireshrine right now, so if anyone else wants them, let me know :] in one of the shows, she does a cover of Tori's "Winter"; it's beautiful & different, and I just love that I have a recording of Lily doing a Tori cover! I will upload that one & post it next time.

(random fact: My last.fm charts say that my most listened to artist in 2008 was Lily, NOT Tori!! ;] Who would have thought someone else would eclipse Tori for my most listened to?)

oh, &I got those shoes I ordered from ebay and I fxcking love them. SIX INCH HEELS, BITCHES! They are surprisingly comfortable too.

okay, sleep now. xx

"somedays we can barely crawl; we're learning to be beautiful"

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:38:00 GMT

This last week has been battling with frustrating spreadsheets at work, having headaches nearly every day & not sleeping properly at night, yet I am strangely content and inspired these days.

Happy things:
♥ thebluebells is coming here next month!! I can't wait to see her again ♥

♥ I bought this beautiful book, The Goddess Guide from a girl on the Vogue forums for only $10, and I absolutely adore it. The colours & the photos & the cut&paste & random pages of handwriting & tips about all things girly are so lovely! I can't stop flicking through it, inhaling the colourful pages, being inspired by the pictures and the style. I want her follow up book now too, The Goddess Experience, which looks just as beautiful.

prettiness ♥

♥ Even though I have been studying all week when I'm not at work, I am feeling motivated & excited for my last year of my masters. Towards the end of last year, I was dreading more months of constant work & study, feeling burnt out by the mere thought of another year. But now that it's 2009 and I am going to be finished by November, it doesn't seem so bad after all. That light at the end of the tunnel? I'm really seeing it now. &I am very excited about what the future will bring, career-wise.

♥ It has been so hot here this week, and I love it. I've been wearing cute skirts, Mad Hatter tea party shirts, & striped stockings when it cools down.

♥ I think I am going to ask if I can go into work late next Wednesday, as Obama's inauguration ceremony starts at 3:30am over here, and I want to stay up and watch it :P

♥ More gorgeous blogs I have been reading lately: Wish Wish Wish and The Cherry Blossom Girl; fashion & style & pretty things.

♥ &speaking of blogs, Noel has been encouraging me to start up my Lace & Stars blog again...