ENGAGEMENT PARTY VENUE + THE RING.

We booked our engagement party venue the other day! At this point, I am jumping for joy and clicking my heels together. Because I'm so generous and kind, I am providing you all with a sneak peek...

I can't provide the actual source otherwise you'll all stalk it out!
For awhile there, things were not so fun. Some people got a little too stressed about the whole venture and then hurled verbal abuse at me. Being the doll I am, I took it with grace (got really mad) and handled it well (cried a lot). Those days are behind us though because I made a decision. A very important decision.
I want to be in control of everything to do with this wedding. I will ask for help when I want it and need it, but I really do not feel comfortable with other people feeling obligated to help out. 
It probably seems quite selfish and a bit foolish but this is my nature. I handle this kind of stuff in my own way and get very uncomfortable if things relating directly to me fall out of my control. Don't get me wrong, I will still love to hear any research people do and listen to ideas but I need to operate on my own schedule and reach decisions in my own way.
The engagement party is a perfect example of this.
We decided on a big engagement party, small wedding. I don't really care that much about the engagement party and I want a lot of people to feel included and this seems like the easiest way to do so. To be clear, I don't really like parties. They stress me out somewhat but I have a feeling this one will be fun!
Justin and I just decided on a whim to go and check out our now-confirmed venue and I knew in the carpark that this was the place. Technically I didn't actually know, but Justin told me that he knew that I subconsciously knew. Our relationship worries me a touch, because we behave like an old married couple. It also gives me hope that this thing may just stand the test of time... :-)
I am so happy that we did that all on our own and that we both loved it. It's the perfect venue for our massive party; the function manager was lovely and helpful and I want to marry her instead, and there  are rumours the food at this place is pretty darn good.
They also don't have a minimum spend on the bar. Music to my ears. Even though we will probably end up spending an ass load on alcohol, it's still nice to know it's obligation-free.   I can't tell you where it is or give you any more photos because that might ruin the surprise for some of my real-life-friends-turned-blog-stalkers (hey yvette!) but perhaps instead this photo will satisfy the masses?

And when you're all done looking (ha)... Have you been to engagement party and experienced any memorable moments, good or bad? Any suggestions on what to do/what not to do?

pre-emptive christmas pin.

Guys, Christmas is this close. Well, the month of Christmas is that close.
Nothing excites me more than Christmas. Even my birthday falls short. An entire month of carols, decorations, presents, wrapping paper, Christmas movies, sleigh bells, stockings -- the list goes on! I'm potentially more jolly than the jolly, fat man. Big call, I know.
This year, Christmas will be super amazing. Twenty billion times more amazing than normal! How come I hear you asking? Well this Christmas I will be in Helsinki, Finland. 
That's right, Helsinki, Finland. And oh boy will it be cold. And oh boy am I far too excited about this!
Living in Australia, it's somewhat of an understatement to say that Christmas is hot. Scorchingly hot. By 7am on Christmas morning, it's usually in the 30's (for those that work on Fahrenheit, 86-ish). This means you sweat your way through Christmas presents and then it's straight in the pool before breakfast. 
Sometimes, I really like that. It's sunny and warm and everyone comes over to swim in the pool and drink beer and play cricket. But, because it's fun to be crazy, I prefer cold climates. Yes, the Australian prefers cold climates. 
And that is why Christmas this year will never be able to be topped. Fingers crossed we have snow in Finland! And, because Christmas is all about the gift of giving, on Christmas day I will be giving you an image of a really, really happy me frolicking in the snow in my stripey thermals.
Until then, join me in frothing over my Christmas Pinterest board!

hello future home. source via pinterest. 

so, so pretty. source via pinterest. 

easily the coolest thing i have EVER seen. i'm doing this. source via pinterest.
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weekly round-up; 18.

Seeing as I've been a little AWOL around here lately, this weekly round-up is going to be a bit of a mash up of adventures from the past few weeks.
I'm so excited for the coming few weeks -- I hope to have a tonne of amazing photos for you! Hopefully my nephew will be showing up sometime soon, the engagement party planning is underway and I officially have thermals for Europe. They may or may not be striped and channelling my inner Pippi Longstocking.
A little treat for the folks at home may be a picture of me in said thermals. Not this week though, but enjoy anyway! :-)

One of the beautiful photos of my almost sister and brother-in-law. They are responsible for my almost first nephew! ANY DAY NOW.

I went a little bit crazy whilst studying for my final exams. So much so that I decided that my jacket was a study cape and that the thing that would help me most would be study ale. Pumpkin ale to be precise. Hello new friend.

There was a wine tasting followed by dinner. This photo was taken between the wine and the dinner. As you can somewhat see, Erin was very happy... The blurriness is as a result of the wine. I do apologise. In my defence, it was thoroughly delicious and I made many "friends".
Hope everyone has been happy and well! :-) 
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WE'RE ENGAGED!

So... This is part two of the big news I was telling you all about.
It happened just over a week ago and it went public on various other social media sites over the past week but it was finally time to get blog official!
I am so excited to officially being on the road to marrying my best friend. He is the most loving and selfless person I have ever met. I am truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to spend the rest of my life with him. 

Love you buddy :-)

weekly round-up 17;

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Well, Justin and I went away for the weekend. We stayed in Bomaderry, just outside of Nowra and went for two nights, three days. We had so much fun and visited this really great Aviation Museum. 
I also discovered a 24 hour Kmart (which blew my mind) so of course I insisted we return there, outside of normal trading hours, for no particular reason other than because I thought it would be fun. And it was. I was right. Crazy young people these days...
Here are a few photos from the week. I'm back doing the Photo a Day challenge :-) there are no photos from the weekend because they are mostly just pictures of planes and helicopters ha!

 1. Something beginning with 'c'. This is my train station :-)

2. Colour. This was actually outside a steakhouse we went to over the weekend. Had the most amazing steak for $20!!

3. Breakfast. This was my breakfast on Saturday morning at a little place called The Tea Club. It was a beautiful bacon and egg roll, mmm, with a little pot of organic peppermint tea. Belly = happy.

4. TV. This is me.. Watching TV.. Drinking some wine..
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! P.S - I have some big news to announce on Wednesday... :)

bye for now!

Justin and I are heading away for the weekend. We've booked a place down the coast and have big plans to visit an aviation museum that I love :-) 
I'll be back to rock your world on Monday. Until then, you can read my latest book review here!
Happy weekend! Xx