Silver service for a steal

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to snap up this beautiful silver tea set at the Brisbane Arts Theatre costume sale. Only 15 bucks - what a steal! I've bought the silver polish, now I just need to find the time. I can't wait to use this for a dinner party!

Float like a butterfly

I think / I hope I found the perfect parkour shoes by accident today. They are super light with a really thin rubber sole. I can't wait to try them out on Saturday. I'm a bit dubious about the construction of the shoe; the sole may just tear away on the first wall run, but worth giving them a try anyway.

Winter in Australia

Brisbane's first annual Winter Festival was held over the last couple of weeks in King George Square with an ice rink nestled in the centre, flanked by palm trees. Food stalls, featuring a variety of cuisines were dotted around the square, providing skaters and spectators alike with yummy and warming morsels of Europe.

No excuses now...

I got a late birthday present on Friday that was very much on the money. I recently lamented the fact that I haven't baked in a really long time, so this book detailing the basics of baking - including bread, cakes, pastries, cookies and muffins - comes at a perfect time.
I have also informed this friend that should we put on weight I hold her solely responsible. ;)

Dream bed

I really love this big low bed, as featured in the latest Vogue Living. It might not be terribly practical to have to get up from just about floor height in the morning, but it is oh so very stylish. Sadly our bedroom is way too small to give it the room to breathe that it deserves.

A very special guest...

Jinx, the friendly neighbour hood cat dropped into work last Friday for a chat (he has the loudest meow of any cat I've ever met), a play and a cuddle. A good start to the day.

Photography Assignment 3 - Reflections

The third and final assignment of the introductory course. We've already enrolled in the next course which starts in about 3 weeks, very excited.
So the theme/brief for this assignment was simply Reflections.
1. A close-up of the wheel of one of the very large trucks that participated in the Gayndah parade. The crowd and pub behind us is reflected in the hub cap. I only had my 50mm lens with me, so it's way too far out, I really wish I'd had my 200mm zoom lens, but such is life.
2. On the way home from Gayndah we got stuck in a massive traffic jam in Gympie, so now we can all relive that experience through the magic of my side mirror.
3. & 4. I bought this beautiful old glass jar a while ago and it's just been sitting in the book case collecting dust, so this was a great opportunity to use it as a subject. Compositionally I really wanted to show the star twice - once the reflection (sharp) as well as looking through the jar from the back (out of focus). Aperture was at about f4 I think.
5. At this point I was scrambling for anything with shiny surfaces, and I happened to grab a couple of harmonicas and an old drum I scored from a shoot a few years ago.

Cast iron skillet

For some unknown reason I decided to buy this second-hand cast iron skillet at the Kilkivan Antiques & Collectables store on the way home from Gayndah. I really like the look of it but I've never cooked with one. My auntie is a real kitchen expert so I thought I could ask her for advice but she just sneered and said she hates cooking with cast iron cookware. Back to square 1. From my very limited understanding of what I've googled I think I need to give it a good scrub and then re-season it. It's got a nice smooth coat on it now, but I'm worried about a little spot in the middle of the pan that seems to be slightly rusted. What say you? Shall I relegate this to a prop or give it a good clean and a couple of seasonings and go for it?

Vintage & Costume Sale at BAT

Brisbane Arts Theatre is holding a sale of its costumes this Saturday and you should come! Prices start at $1!
222 Petrie Terrace, 8am to 2pm.
For more of a preview check out this video by Girl Clumsy.

Gayndah - The Rodeo!

By far my favourite experience of the weekend was the Sunday afternoon Rodeo. It was insanity and awesomeness rolled into one. I would rather arm wrestle a biker than step foot into that arena with one of those massive beasts on the loose.

The least insane feat (still requiring loads of skill) was the barrel racing:


These girls were really working it!

A short interlude to showcase the fresh-faced cowboys and gals, and one not-so-fresh-faced one with an awesome mo:

Watch this poor little calf being chased down and tied up like a Christmas ham:

Some bucking broncos:

Steer-wrestling!!!! Seriously.

Bull riding! Country people are seriously mad! They do this shit for fun!!

Ton has also posted about this event.

Gayndah - The Oranges

Well, these little guys are kumquats, but their skin is orange, so close enough.

Also, some very interesting typography and illustration on these old bits of packaging.

Gayndah - The Landscape

Gayndah - The Races: The point of it all

So the point of going to the races is to bet on the horses, but since I'm not much of a gambler I decided to try to take some photos instead. Low light and fast-moving beasts do not a great photograph make. Add to that the constant drizzle from above, and I soon retired to the club house *cough* shed *cough* for some hot chips and another alcoholic beverage to dull the senses from the encroaching cold. Hence I didn't come away with anything terribly interesting, but I thought I'd share these semi-ok photos anyway so you can get an idea of the conditions.

Gayndah - The Races: Fashions on the Field

After the parade we went back home to get changed for the races. The weather was too horrible to go outside, let alone go outside in a frock, but we did it anyway. Instead of a hat I wore a beanie (and I STILL got sick!!), but these lovely ladies braved the cold and not-so-glamorous surroundings with some cute and stylish headgear.

Gayndah - The Parade

For every Orange Festival the festival committee elects an Orange Queen, chosen from local entrants; not married, under 30, either born in Gayndah or living there full-time. One of our friends entered, but unfortunately didn't win. It's not like a beauty pageant with a swimwear section; it's more about fund-raising and community involvement, and the entrants also get questioned on their local knowledge (including what type of oranges or other citrus fruits are picked at what time of the year).
The Queen is chosen at a Ball the weekend before the Festival, and then she and the other entrants have official duties to attend to all weekend. On the Saturday at lunch time they have a parade down the main road with music, floats, performers etc - the local businesses put up floats, and the Orange Queen contestants are typically associated with a particular business and wave from that business's float. Without further ado, our friend's float, some of the women who work there dressed up as cows, citrus fruit and a bear (??), and some of the other parade participants:

Last Weekend - Gayndah

I've been sick all week, so am finally able to catch up on blogging last weekend.
We have a couple of friends who were born and raised in Gayndah, a little country town of about 3000 people, situated approximately 150km North-West of Gympie. Gayndah and its arch rival (seriously) Mundubbera are a citrus-growing region, and every two years Gaynday hosts the Orange Festival, where the population of the town swells to around 10'000!! All the expats who have moved onto bigger cities come back, and bring along their big city friends. For the majority of the weekend there were 10 people staying at our friend's parents' house, and most of the town is the same.
Sadly the weather was rather awful (freezing cold and rain), but the hospitality we enjoyed was wonderful.
I'm breaking my photos up into different events/posts to follow...