Armstrong Street Foodstore, Armstrong Street, Middle Park

Today I went to the Armstrong Street Foodstore (on Armstrong Street, Middle Park) with a friend who has just come back to live in Melbourne. 

We had a cup of tea and a piece of hedgehog (Yum...)!!! 

I love catching up with this friend.  Apart from the fact that can just natter on for hours and hours about anything we're in similar professions so its good to have someone who "understands" my work and the pressures of our particular profession.

I'm currently trying to increase the non-work activities ... trying to live a well rounded life ya know :-) 

She's looking for a new place to live so we also went to look at some rental properties .... horrendous amounts of rent for some places that really weren't so flash.  Bathrooms that were about 30 years old and looked as though they'd had some pretty hard wear in those 30 years.  It makes me wonder about what landlord's think is appropriate.

Why do they think that they can continue to receive peoples money without every doing any work on their properties.  

Why is it that no-one offers tenants better protection? 

I feel incredibly grateful that I am in my own place - albeit that the bank owns more than me!  I'm working on changing that though!  

On another note the Petunias have started to flower.  

Cumulus Inc

Cumulus Inc is a great spot on Flinders Lane.  Food is great and check out the flowers from last week.

I love them ....... they're so colourful and fabulous. 

Craft Victoria has got a great window display at the moment 

Craft Vic was closed when I took these pictures .... but I'm hoping to go back.  I'd happily put some of these little treasures on my christmas list.

What's happening on Wednesday

Berries are back ...... still expensive though.  

I couldn't resist some raspberries ... does anyone else think that they almost taste like a perfume.  Those fresh, really ripe raspberries with that heady scent?  

Or is that just me? 

I stepped into the supermarket because I was early for a dinner date with my little brother.  I picked up 5 am organic yoghurt - vanilla bean which will go fabulously well with the berries.  I also got a few other bits and pieces - cheese because I'm thinking about making some pizza this coming weekend, baking powder, flour, currants because I've also got a yen to make me some cake.

Fatal really because you know, whole cake ... and a girl can eat the whole cake!   You can see how this ends up can't you........ 

Being Yourself

As time goes on and it does .... on and on with no rewind button 

I'm becoming surer (not sure that's really a word) of an essential certainty. 

I need to be myself - the real true me because there's no one else that I can be. 

It's taken a while to get to that point ... which seems a bit ridiculous, I mean really who can I be but me? 

But I think the reality of it is that sometimes, maybe many times, we try to "fit" in.  Mould ourselves to not offend, to blend in and not stand out from the crowd, to not be the voice of dissent. 

I know I've done that and done it often.  I've thought - it's easier to "go along" and not express my real view.  Partly because I hold very strong opinions and sometimes I know that I put people off because I'm dead sure of where I am at heart and what I believe ....... except of course that I'm guilty of hiding it at times. 

It isn't the worlds worst thing to do this - after all there's no need to turn social occasions into something awkward.  But as time goes on I think that on the essentials - I need to not mould it and meld it - I need to stand up and be me! 

Hope you can all do the same.  

Happy Tuesday folks.

Getting Started - October 2011

Well hello, I thought I'd try a little blogging. 

This tree is just down the road from me and I've been walking past it for the last few days and I finally remembered to take a photo .... this doesn't really do it justice.  It looks amazing when you see it in "real life".  I thought I'd share it with you ... if you're thinking about planting a pom pom tree - go ahead! 

It reminded me of the camellia's that I used to decorate the platter that I put my sisters birthday cake on a little while back ... they had a bit of a pom pom thing going on as well. 

The cake recipe came from NZ House and Garden Magazine ... no idea which edition because it was a recipe I'd pulled out and stuck in a book.  

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