A Letter to Myself, 2010 and my 25th Year
Photo by Nany Photography (Flickr)
Dear Kim,
I know you’ll laugh at me for saying this, and I agree that it is probably not at all what you expected, but – I’m proud of you. You have grown up a lot in the past 12 months and really reflected on what is truly important to you. I know it wasn’t easy.
Instead of living (and bathing) in the drama, you have asked yourself where it comes from and tried to eliminate it. You are (trying) to be smarter with money, you resigned from a job that didn’t fulfil you and have let yourself create.
So what if you didn’t complete all 25 Things on your list before your birthday last Tuesday. Does it matter? There is no failure in that, just a bunch of achievements that may never have come to be if you hadn’t put that list together. You paid off most of your debts, bought a beautiful DSLR camera and took a course on how to use it properly, travelled for 5 weeks in Europe, explored new restaurants and bars in Melbourne, got all your health check ups and appointments, bit your nails slightly less than the year before, danced, wrote for a new online publication and sent long handwritten letters to dear friends.
You are more you now than you have ever been. Run where the music takes you in 2011. You will be fine.
Love,
Me.
What would you say to yourself about your 2010?
Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY AMAZING READERS! I hope you enjoy the festive season whether it be with family, friends or in your own company – take care and be merry. xx
Your Own Secret Admirer
I love gifts. I love giving them and I love getting them, so this time of year is always pretty exciting for me (birthday and Christmas in the same month = double excitement). My lovely friend Lara sent me a link to a site recently that reminded me that gift giving should never be limited to special occasions. Aren’t the best presents the unexpected ones, the “just because” flowers or the “thinking of you” cards?
My Own Secret Admirer is a beautiful site created by Rebecca Glascott-Barnes who says she’s “on a mission to change the way we pamper people and show them just how appreciated they are”. MOSA has a large range of gifts available that you can package together and have sent out at different times during a 1 – 3 month period. If you’re overwhelmed by the choice of products, MOSA has put together packages aimed at the special people in your life and what they may be interested in.
- My favourites: MOR Marshmallow Lip Balm; Gun Metal Bracelets by April Abella Designs; Tonic Eye Pillows; Rose Teabags and Mini Heart Sugar Box by Marie Shion; Hand Tree by Venucci and Red Wine Kit – An Evaluation Kit for the Passionate Enthusiast
You can either send the gifts as a secret admirer or remove the mystery by attaching your name. Remember to spread some love in 2011 in your own way to remind those amazing people in your life that they mean the world to you.
How do you like to show your loved ones that you’re thinking of them?
Inspiration Station: One Day I’ll Fly Away
I am a bit of a Gossip Girl fan (as you may have seen in my Christmas Wish List) and usually use it as a source of fashion inspiration, but one episode in Season 4 filled me with a different kind of inspiration. Home decor is not usually something that I spend a lot of time worrying about, but now that we have moved into a new apartment with stark white walls; decorations, furniture and accessories have started to catch my eye.
This is a snapshot from the scene where Blair shows Serena the newly decorated bedroom she arranged for her (what a great best friend huh?), complete with a gorgeous butterfly artwork by Paul Villinski (consisting of over 200 butterflies).
Paul creates his butterfly pieces out of recycled materials including crushed beer cans and vinyl records (how cool is that?). The butterfly is symbolic in his work, representing transformation and rebirth. He explained that sometimes the butterflies seem to want to fly in a certain direction and he simply lets them. He describes his process as “a quiet physical meditation, a yoga of tin snips and files and fingers”.
Once I discovered Paul and his amazing work, I felt this urge to have a similar installation in our apartment. Since I am unable to buy any of his pieces, I decided to trawl the internet to find something similar. I managed to find a number of handmade paper creations on Etsy that resemble his work, but nothing made out of other unique recycled materials. Then I came across Lightly.
Lightly‘s butterfly creations are made from reclaimed fine bone china saucers and come in a range of patterns. The designer Cindy-Lee Davies’ creations aim to evoke romance of a time gone by with a delicate whimsy. Lightly is a Melbourne based designer house that also stocks beautiful mirrors, lights and accessories.
Stepping Out
The silly season is officially upon us and the craziness has begun. I am heading back home to New Zealand on the 17th (can’t wait) and my things to do pile is getting out of control.
Photograph by Ewa-Marie Rundquist
It’s not often that we stop to reflect on what we have accomplished over the last few months, but I am making a tiny slice of time right now for a couple of the more interesting things I’ve taken part in over the last couple of months which I have yet to write about over here.
VOLUNTEERING
Number 16 on the 25 Things To Do By 25 list was to take a day off work to volunteer. Mission accomplished but not without war wounds to show for it.
I decided (thanks to a little push from an environmentally conscious friend of mine, thanks D) to get my hands dirty and plant trees as my contribution to society for the day. Firstly, you must know that I am not an outdoorsy type. I don’t like camping, hiking, farms – pretty much anything to do with mud, too much sun and lack of toilets/showers/beds. I am a self confessed city princess, hence the challenge of getting over all that and doing something out of my comfort zone.
I arrived at Conservation Volunteers bright and early at 8am wearing jeans, sneakers and a long sleeved hooded top (sexy attire I know), eager to get started and feeling like an eco warrior. We headed out to Westgate Park which used to be a garbage dump until they cleaned it up 12 years ago (and boy did they do a good job). The park is run completely by volunteers who have to maintain it by planting, weeding, mulching and ensuring that the rabbits don’t eat everything in their path.
My first job was moving mulch from a huge steaming pile onto the drier parts of the park. Running around with wheelbarrows down a steep slope was fairly tough but we were rewarded with juice and biscuits afterwards. I had slapped a tonne of sunscreen on which was just as well as it was stinking hot in Melbourne that day and there was no shade.
Tree planting was next which was the part I was most looking forward to. We planted over 180 plants between about 7 of us. I ended up with dirt down my pants, underneath my (short) fingernails and in my hair but felt great about how much we’d achieved. I even helped out one of the girls who had a screaming fit when she disturbed an ant nest. Usually I’m not a big fan of ants myself (I can feel them crawling all over me for hours after they’re off) but just proceeded to plant around them, too tired to care what they did.
I wanted our lunchbreak to go on forever. I was exhausted, sweaty, my back was aching and I desperately needed a shower but we weren’t done. I was well and truly grumpy during the weeding and it was at this point that I realised I had a scalding red strip along my lower back – fiery sunburn from bending over all day. Urgh. I tried to stay positive and tell myself that yes it was a little uncomfortable for me but that I was doing a good thing here… but I was over it.
When I got home T asked me if I felt wonderful for doing something so selfless. I was lying on my bed not wanting to move and unable to pipe out a positive answer. The next day I also discovered about 30 odd mosquito bites all over my arms. They had eaten me alive through my shirt!
All in all, I AM glad I did it. I’m not proud of being a city princess, but at least I can say that I can get over myself and get out there for a good cause.
Photographs by Laspata DeCaro
CIRCUS TUITION
I had my second private lesson with the lovely Rachel at the National Institute of Circus Arts on Tuesday night. My first lesson was on the tissue. If you’re unfamiliar with circus acts (and let’s face it, most of us are), the tissue consists of climbing up two long strips of silk hanging from the ceiling. Why Kim, why?
I have always had a little phobia of heights, particularly where there is the option of falling. I hated the monkey bars as a child, the pole, climbing trees etc (plus I wasn’t an athletic youngster and possibly couldn’t have lifted myself even if I’d wanted to). AND I love watching the circus. I always attend NICA’s end of term shows and walk away telling myself I should give it a go. So I have.
God it is tough. My upper body strength is nowhere near what it needs to be to yank myself up ropes made of silk, so I felt a little foolish leaving my first lesson (and oh did I ache in the days afterwards). But I had bought a pack of 4 lessons and damn it I was going to use them all, so I turned up a second time faced with the hoop. The hoop was actually a tad easier to grip onto which meant I could at least hold myself above the ground and (with a little assistance) get up on it. It’s hard work but an interesting pastime, no?
What interesting things have you been doing to step out of your comfort zone lately?
Dream. Delight. Inspire. 