I ordered this bag to take with me to Japan, but it arrived while I was away. No matter, it’s still a super, super cool bag.
Sydney Life
Shopping in Japan
I did go completely nuts. Here are a few things I brought home …
Tokidoki range from the Sanrio store. I will be re-selling most of these I think.
Cuuute Hello Kitty stuff.
New fragrances. The Prada one is particularly lovely.
Newtown Saturday
I couldn’t believe Bev had never been to Newtown before. It’s my fave indie shopping Mecca, so met her for lunch, shopping and more food on a sunny Saturday.
Before shopping we needed to fuel up with some Thai that Newtown is famous for.
My fried rice and veges was amazing.
Bev’s beef thingy was enough for two. She said it was delicious. A shame I didn’t write down the name of the place!
After shopping, more snacks at Cafe C – my ice chocolate and Bev’s strawberry smoothie.
Churros and chocolate.
My shopping results – dress with little white hearts, books to read on the plane and warm peach cobbler-flavoured lip balm. It smells divine.
The Other Boleyn Girl
I love a good historical movie so grabbed Ro and Jules to see The Other Boleyn Girl with me tonight. I’ve just finished reading the book, which is excellent, but I’ve realised that I know way too much about the period to be able to fully enjoy movies that are not exceedingly historically accurate.
That said, I still really enjoyed the movie. I don’t usually like Scarlett Johansson, but I thought she was good in this movie – not too much pouting required. I also thought Natalie Portman, as usual, was great. I was only disappointed that Eric Bana didn’t have a very well-developed role.
I also thought that the movie seemed like it had been put together in a rush. Editing is a fine art and great transitions and a strong musical score can really make all the difference.
Full Of Bliss
I had my first full beauty treatment today at Ayurve Spa on York St. I took my favourite clients for a bit of a treat – and was completely unprepared for the extreme bliss it brought!
I had a two-hour package that included a 30 min back massage, a facial and a paraffin wax foot treatment. I will most definitely be going back, particularly for the massage and facial.
Shopping!
I can’t help myself 🙂
This little felt unicorn was bought from Etsy.com
These gumboots came from the Easter show. With Sydney weather the way it is I think I will be needing them.
Step Up 2: The Streets
Dance movies are a source of extreme relaxation for me. Nothing is more entertaining than some well-executed routines, with a romance usually thrown in for good measure.
Rosalie and I both loved Step Up the original, so of course we were super-keen to see the sequal, imaginatively titled “Step Up 2 The Streets“.
The movie has completely new characters but set in the same neighbourhood. The focus is also more on the neighbourhood than just the school, and is the story of a B-girl who, rather than trying to fit in with a performing arts school she is made to attend to avoid being sent to live in Texas, instead helps other students who don’t fit the typical dancer mould to become a dance crew. The crew rehearse with the intent to perform at the infamous (and apparently illegal – dancing is dangerous, yo!) “streets” competition where crews battle in the same way that rappers do.
The dance sequences are fierce – some really strong dancing, and I really loved the last dance piece – in the rain no less. I found the clip on YouTube, so watch it if you don’t mind a spoiler.
Horton Hears a Who
Lisa and I are small children at heart, worshiping at the shrine of cuteness. We’ve been waiting for months for Horton to come out, and we were not disappointed.
The animation for a start is amazing. The scenes is set in a jungle with Horton, the eccentric elephant, finding a spec that contains a whole world on it. The spec rests on a flower, and Horton makes it his mission to save the residents of the spec, the Whos of Whoville, by taking them to cave on top of a mountain.
Horton’s mission is hampered by the head of the tribe, a kangaroo who fears change. The kangaroo sends a vulture called Vlad after him to destroy the spec to protect the town from Horton’s controversial ideas.
The movie has several homages to the original Dr Seuss animation, which I loved, and the narration kept the rhyming couplets from the original book as well.
Lise and I were the only adults in the cinemas without children, but found the movie was skewed to adults as well as children, so we both enjoyed it thoroughly. It kept the kids totally enthralled – no whining, crying, talking kids in the entire two hours. Except for a whack on the head I received from the toddler sitting behind me, I totally forgot we were seeing a kids movie.
My favourite thing about the movie was the theme, and line Horton spoke – “A person is a person, no matter how small”. A thought we could all keep and apply to race and species I think.
The Sydney Easter Show
I took my parents to the Easter show for a day of family bonding.
Photos of mine on display (top left and the pink one on the middle).
Award-winning cake. Yuuummmm.
Pugs. I never get sick of them.
BIG doggy.
Cactus with a bum on top.
Show jumping.
Fluffy alpacas just out of the bath.
Cows from my old school.
Me in the farmyard nursery area with a calf.
Freshly hatched chicks.
Polo to finish it all off.
The Black Balloon
Being a teenager is hard. Kids are cruel and being different is the worst curse you can have. Having a brother who is so severely autistic that he can’t talk, throws tantrums in shopping centres and has a habit of breaking into strangers’ homes to use their toilets is a guaranteed recipe for a hellish childhood.
Thomas (Rhys Wakefield) is 16 and starting a new high school. His autistic brother, Charlie (Luke Ford), makes his life quite challenging, when all he wants is to fit in and make some friends. Thomas meets Jackie, a girl in his class, through a hilarious situation involving Thomas – hilarious for us that is, as the viewer cringes in embarrassment at how Thomas has to deal with Charlie’s complete lack of inhibitions as one of the many trials of life with an autistic family member. Jackie (Gemma Ward) is not only beautiful and smart, she is also compassionate and urges Rhys to accept Charlie for who he is and to stop wishing he was “normal”.
A tender rite of passage story told in the period of my own childhood in Sydney made the movie even more poignant and real to me. Seeing the kids wearing stack hats and carrying the old canvas back packs that were so popular at the time transported me right back to my own teens and earlier. What never changes is family dynamics. Thomas’ desire to have a “normal” childhood and life is quite painful to watch, often full of anger and resentment, but, in the end, tender, accepting and with a touch of humour that we all need to deal with the hard knocks life throws at us to deal with.
I have a theory that all Aussie movies are either fabulous or completely awful. This one is definitely in the fabulous area.
