Life of Bridey

Tennis Practice

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:11:00 +0000

Tonight Owen and I went down to the tennis courts for a few hits. We took the dog along as ball girl. She was pretty good at fetching the ball and bringing it back, but every now and then would get a little too excited and steal the tennis ball mid-rally.

Despite this her ball retrieving skills are still a lot better than my tennis skills!

Quarter Past Silly

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:56:00 +0000

You know how to be silly
That's why I like you
Boy are you ever silly
I never met anybody sillier than me till I met you
I like you because you know when it's time to stop being silly
Maybe day after tomorrow
Maybe never
Too late, it's a quarter past silly!

- from "I Like You" by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

Our friend Raewyn read this poem at our wedding, and this is my favourite verse - mostly because it's true! In honour of Valentines Day I thought I'd share some of the silly things that Owen and I get up to...

Making up crazy dances, like the Dinosaur
Nose licking competitions
Lots of play fighting (the dog always wants to get involved too)
Slapping da bass, mon
Pretending we can read the minds of the cat and dog and narrating what they think
Making up ridiculous nicknames, like Scuzz Rocket
Excessively quoting from our favourite movies
Communicating in cat noises

What shenanigans do you get up to with you significant other?

Current Obsession: Board Games

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Photo Credit

Ever since I was little I've loved playing board games. My sister and brother and I would spend hours playing Monopoly (which usually involved a bit of cheating...) and would have some pretty intense games of Trouble and Face Off as well.

Recently we've been building up our collection of board games (we got a couple for Xmas last year) and my current favourites are:

Cranium
Scattergories
Bananagrams

I've heard a lot of good things about Settlers of Cattan so that's next on my list of games to buy. Also on my list is Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Rummikub. Now I just have to recruit more people to play them with me!

A Little Inspiration for Home

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:31:00 +0000

Although we haven't done any work on the house for ages, I've still been planning and dreaming and finding some inspiration for when the time comes. Some of my current favourites (via Pinterest):

Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5, Photo 6

I think my next project will be setting up a reading nook, although if the weather improves then a hammock in the garden might be my first priority.

Books Books Books

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Photo Credit

When I visited my auntie in the second hand book store today I thought I'd have a look around to see if I could find anything interesting. It's quite a small shop, so I was pleasantly surprised to come across a copy of The History of Love which had been recommended to me a while ago.

I'm always on the look out for more book recommendations though, any suggestions?

Vanilla Essence

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

The first goal I've completed for 2012 was to make some vanilla essence. Well mostly completed anyway - it takes six months to mature so technically it won't be finished til July. But I'm going to ignore that little detail and mark this goal as done.

My favourite part of making the vanilla essence was buying the vodka. The drinking age in New Zealand is eighteen, so I was amused when the guy behind the counter asked for some ID. I'm old enough to take that as a compliment now!

I used the instructions from here if you're interested in making some yourself.

Travel Plans: Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Our first (and last) stop on our upcoming trip is going to be Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. We've planned a stay of two nights on the way over to London and one night on the way back, which doesn't leave us lots of time but hopefully enough to catch a few highlights.

Photo Credits

Some activities I'd like to include:

A visit to the Batu Caves
Fish foot spa (although I do have incredibly ticklish feet and don't know if I could handle this!)
Exploring the markets and temples
Trying some food served in a banana leaf

Have you ever been to Malaysia? Any suggestions of places to go/things to do/food to try?

My Favourite Movies (of All Time)

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

There are some movies that I can watch over and over again, but still I never seem to get sick of them! If I had to pick only three, my favourites would be:

The Princess Bride
You know how some movies you loved as a kid, and then watch as an adult, leave you really disappointed? The Princess Bride is nothing like that. I think that I like it more every time I see it. When I found out that some of my friends hadn't seen it before I forced them to watch it, because if you haven't seen this movie, then I'm sorry but we can't be friends anymore.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Favourite Quotes

Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
Inconceivable!
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Have fun storming the castle!
Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.

Super Troopers
I first saw this movie when I was sixteen, and I still find it hilarious. I'm not sure whether this means that my sense of humour hasn't progressed since then, or that Super Troopers is just so good. Watch it for yourself and you can decide!

Click here to watch the trailer.

Favourite Quotes

Who wants a moustache ride?
I swear to God I'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says "shenanigans".
He's already pulled over, he can't pull over anymore!
These boys get that syrup in 'em, they get all antsy in their pantsy.
Yes, you are freaking out... man.

Amélie
This movie always makes me smile (and want to go and live in Paris!). The story is sweet, the characters are quirky, and the imagery is beautiful. Amélie is a heroine for introverts, dreamers and lovers of crème brûlée everywhere.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Favourite Quotes

I like to look for things no one else catches.
With a prompter in every cellar window whispering comebacks, shy people would have the last laugh.
This is called facing reality. And that is exactly the last thing Amelie wants!
I'm nobody's little weasel.

What are your favourite movies?

Where I'm From

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I am from the edge of the world

from hokey pokey ice cream and bonfires on the beach.

From scavenger hunts and water divining

peas in the pod and smooth stones under bare feet.

I am from the lady in the bay

from lips stained with purple peaches and never locking the door.

From roller skating down the path and xmas in summer

making huts up the back and shelves overflowing with books.

I am from first to see the sun

from jumping off the old wharf and fruit juice mixed with lemonade.

From wandering the hills and the quiet streets

always ending up back at the place where I'm from.

Thanks to Alana for the inspiration. Here's the original poem, and a template if you want to write one too.

My Goals Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:30:00 +0000

I always find setting lots of goals is fun. I love dreaming and thinking of possibilities and adventures. What's even more fun is making progress on goals, although sometimes it can be a bit hard to keep track of the many things I've decided I want to do.

This year I wanted a new system to record my progress and work out what to focus on next, so I've started a goals journal. It combines a little bit of scrap booking, a few check boxes, and a lot of lists!

My sister gave me a couple of notebooks for Xmas so I'm using one of them. It's a nice compact size but with enough space for a bit of writing and pictures.

I started with a title page using some images and text I'd gleaned from a magazine a while ago.

The next pages are dedicated to my word of the year (I first heard about this practice here) and this year I decided to pick one I thought would challenge me a little!

Next I made a list of all my goals for the year with boxes to check them off when they're complete. I've also got room to add a couple more goals if I feel like it...

My first goal is to visit three new countries, which should be happening in May and June. I've left some spaces to write down which countries we get to (our plan is Malaysia, Belgium and Greece) and also space to stick in a photo I've taken in each country.

I've left six page for my next goal since I'm planning to stick in tickets, photos etc from our date nights (those are movie tickets from Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).

This is the list of the tutorials and assignments I have to finish to complete the proofreading and editing course I started last year. I love being able to tick each one off as I finish them!

The first goal I've completed! Here are the full instructions for making vanilla essence. I'm going to take a photo of how it's looking at the start of the process, and then another once it's ready to use.

Inspired by this method, I started checking off my almost daily exercise in November last year. For the new year I decided to keep going with the same page, and I'm planning to stick it into my goals journal once I've crossed out every day. And then start on the next page!

To keep track of the new recipes I'm trying, I've decided to record the name, the book it's from, and I'm also giving it a star rating (out of five) to see whether it's worth making again.

I have a list of books I want to read as part of my Life List, but I've also written the list of what I want to get through this year so I can tick them off once I'm done. I'm reading Jane Eyre at the moment (along with a couple of other books not on my list).

The rest of the pages don't have anything to share at the moment (I'm not sure what I'm going to do with some of them!) but I'm planning a review of my goals journal at the end of the year to see how effective it's been.

Corners of Home

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:00:00 +0000

We've been living in our first house for over a year, and slowly but surely it's becoming more and more of a home. None of the rooms are finished so I thought I'd share some of the little details instead. If you need a refresher of what the house looked like when we first moved in, here it is.

Dog and record player in the living room.

Piano (that needs tuning!) in the corner of the living room.

Books arranged by colour in the living room.

Miniature roses from our garden on the dining table.

There's always a big pile of books on my bedside table!

Snapshots: New Brighton

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:52:00 +0000

Some of my favourite photos that Owen's taken of New Brighton.

Inspiration: Travel Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

With our trip fast approaching Owen and I are thinking of some sort of photo project that we can do to record our travels. A couple of projects that I'm loving:

Feet First
While sitting on a beach in England with his girlfriend, photographer Tom Robinson took a photo of their feet pointing out to sea. Since then they've documented all of their travels this way, with over 90 photos so far (that's a lot of travelling!).

To check out more photos visit Tom Robinson's website here.

The Longest Way
In 2007 Christoph Rehage planned to walk from China to Germany. He walked over 4,000 kms before he decided to stop, and took self potraits throughout his travels. These photos document the different places he walked through and the growth of a pretty impressive beard!

Have a look at the awesome video he made here, and to get the full story visit the Longest Way website here.

Have you ever done a travel photo project? Please share a link in the comments if you have any examples, I'd love some more inspiration!

Childhood Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Some of the things I remember about my childhood that make me laugh now:

1
When I was little (probably about three years old) I went to the bank with my dad. While he was lining up I was running around, and coming back to tackle him around the legs every now and then. At some point the line moved forward without me noticing. I ran back one more time and grabbed his legs, and then realised with horror that it wasn't my dad at all, and my arms were wrapped around a strangers knees. So I cried, and I was too scared to play around at the bank ever again.

2
While I was growing up my parents always emphasised the importance of good manners. I can remember my mother growling at me once when I was about four years old for being impolite. I decided that she didn't realise how polite I really was. My evidence? I explained to her that "the other day I saw a fat person and I didn't even say anything". She didn't find my argument very convincing!

3
I really wanted to watch Jaws 3 when I was six years old, but my parents weren't too keen to have a traumatised child on their hands. Mum promised that she'd tape the movie so I could watch it the next day, but she never promised she'd tape the whole movie. Instead she only recorded the first few minutes (until one of the little sharks dies), and told me that was it. I didn't find out about this incident until many years later and when I finally watched the full version of Jaws 3 I realised I hadn't missed anything (it's pretty terrible!). But I still think it's one of the reasons that I'm obsessed with great white sharks.

What are the funniest memories you have from your childhood?

February Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Photo Credit

It looks like this is going to be a productive month, hopefully I'll be able to cross two big goals off my 2012 list! What I'm planning for February:

Post every day on my blog this month (I've never attempted this before)
Buy another indoor plant
Get my bike ready to be assembled (and convince Owen to help!)
Go to a meditation class
Try another four new recipes
Finish the last two tutorials for the editing course
Go on a couple more date nights

And how did I go with my January goals?

Try four new recipes (yes!)
Finish painting my bike (almost)
Start going to the gym regularly again (yes!)
Go on two dates with my husband (yes!)
Finish a couple more tutorials for the editing course (yes!)
Buy one indoor plant (yes!)
Organise some photos to be printed (almost)
Take the dog on more long walks (yes!)

True or False

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Once I was unintentionally punched in the face at a rock concert.

I never learned to whistle properly.

If I wanted to I could probably quote all of Jurassic Park.

I've been a can can dancer in two different shows.

When I was a teenager I got sick of having curly hair so had it all shaved off.

I've never broken a bone.

If I really like a book I'll usually reread it, sometimes straight away.

I don't own a hair brush.

I was a vegetarian for nearly four years.

When I was little a went through a stage of making everyone call me Arnold.

Bicycle Love

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:58:00 +0000

I mentioned that one of my goals this year is to finish restoring my retro bicycle. At the moment it's very slow going, I'm getting close to finishing painting the body but need to buy more supplies and I just want to get it done already!

I'm really looking forward to riding around while the weather's still nice, and watching videos like this one (via LA) makes me even more impatient:

This reminds me of all the mornings biking to school with my friend Nicola. It was downhill all the way and we spent most of the time riding along with no hands and singing really loudly.

If I'd known about all these moves it would have been even more fun!

Visiting Central Christchurch

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:26:00 +0000

The other weekend I ventured in to the central city, which was for the first time in almost a year (for obvious reasons...)

It was surreal walking down the quiet streets that used to be full of people, and there were so many gaps from buildings that have been demolished that in some places it was hard to remember what used to be there. Add some more damage from the latest earthquakes, scrawled messages across buildings from Urban Search and Rescue checking for survivors back in February, and most of the areas still fenced off - it was still a bit overwhelming.

The reason I wanted to go back to the city was because of some new developments, mainly the new Restart Project which has brought back some of the original shops and cafes in buildings made out of shipping containers:

I was really impressed! If you want to brave a visit to the shaky city* then definitely check it out.

* I haven't noticed an earthquake so far today though, fingers crossed this lasts for a while longer!

Travel Plans: Greek Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:33:00 +0000

Last night we booked our flights to the Greek Islands! We're going to fly from London to Mykonos, spend a few days island hopping, then fly into Athens for a couple of days. We'll be travelling with some friends who are living in the UK at the moment and I'm really looking forward to catching up with them.

Photo Credit

Now that we're starting to make some plans and spend some money, the trip seems a lot more real and I'm getting excited. We've also booked a flight to Rome, and thinking about a train trip to Belgium as well. I always have to be careful that I don't plan too many countries/cities/activities into our trips, especially with my travel challenge. I think five countries in four weeks sounds pretty good though!

What's the best place you've ever been too? At the moment my favourites are London, Northern France, Berlin and Rarotonga. I have a feeling Greece will make my list too!

Progress with the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:44:00 +0000

A couple of months ago our garden was looking like this:

And now, voila!

So far we've harvested peas, lettuce and broccoli. The cauliflower and cabbages aren't far behind, and I'm looking forward to some carrots and corn in a couple of months too.

Apart from enthusiastic pumpkins and flattened onions, everything is going pretty well!

January Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:01:00 +0000

I can't resist making new year's resolutions, but after a couple of months I've mostly stopped thinking about them. My love of lists and planning is no secret, so I've been thinking of a more effective way to make and keep track of some goals. I've decided that I'll give monthly goals a whirl and see how it goes.

Photo Credit

So my goals for January are:

Try four new recipes (from my new recipe books)
Finish painting my bike
Start going to the gym regularly again
Go on two dates with my husband
Finish a couple more tutorials for the editing course
Buy one indoor plant (I like the suggestions here)
Organise some photos to be printed
Take the dog on more long walks

Plans for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:01:00 +0000

Click here for all my 2012 goals (I got a little carried away!)

Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:18:00 +0000

It was nice to get away from the city (and more earthquakes!) for a few days. Our Christmas involved visiting family, eating too much food, and exchanging gifts. Because it's summer it also involved swimming, bare feet, and lounging in the sun all afternoon.

A couple of days later we took a trip to the sort-of-secret waterfall for more swimming, a little picnic, and jumping off the rocks (or in my case taking photos of everyone else midair).

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, I hope you're enjoying your holidays too!

Sweet Enough

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:21:00 +0000

This will come as a shock to people who know me:

That's right, the girl who never said no to chocolate, the girl who always had dessert (even when no one else did), the girl who would make her husband go on late night ice cream adventures. No sugar for one month!

Photo Credit

The first three weeks weren't too tough, but last week was a different story. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more chocolate I'm exposed to, and the harder it gets to say no. But I'm sticking with it and starting to focus a lot more on what I put into my body. I've been cutting back on a lot of processed foods (you'll find that pretty much everything has sugar added), giving away the chocolates that has been gifted to me, and exercising my self control!

Some things I've noticed:

I've realised that my attachment to sugar is emotional. My body doesn't want it but my mind sure does!
I've lost some weight (I'm also going to the gym so I'm sure that's helped too)
My blood sugar levels seem to be a bit more stable
I don't feel the need to snack as much as I normally would
My skin looks clearer
If people eat chocolate or dessert in front of me I hate them just a little

I'm not sure how many of those things can be attributed to not eating sugar (apart from the last one!) but I think it's a move in the right direction. I'm don't know how much longer I'll be sugar-free but I think it's been worth trying. Becoming more aware of my eating habits is always a good thing, and even if I introduce sugar back into my diet I hope I'll still pay this much attention to my food choices.

I bought and loved I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson, which you can buy here.

Snapshots: Walking the Pup

noreply@blogger.com (Bridey) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:00:00 +0000