Christmas

Christmas has come and gone. I hope you all had a wonderful time. For me, it was a quiet day in with Sean as all our families were overseas. We did celebrate, however, by making a special lunch... Christmas turkey ^.^

On Boxing Day, we decided to head to the city in the evening, not to shop, but to take piccies of the Christmas decorations before they were taken down. Since this is Melbourne, our first stop is the hourly fire show outside Crown along Yarra River.

 

I remember the wonder I felt when I first saw the display a decade ago. Ten years later, it still leaves me in awe.

After that, we made our way inside Crown. This was the very first Christmas Tree we came across. 

I have to admit the filigree hanging from the ceiling caught my attention more than the tree itself :P

Heading into the Atrium at Crown Towers, we were just in time for the musical display. This year, the theme is Fabergé-egg-like baubles that pop open to reveal Santa's friends. 

 

A relevant tune plays as they open up one by one. 'Frosty the Snowman' for the snowman, 'Jingle Bells' for the one-horse sleigh, 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' for the reindeer... You get the idea. My favourite was the snowflakes opening up to 'Let It Snow'. 

Last but never least was Santa himself. Obviously, the song playing is 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' :) 

 

Finally, we walked to Bourke Street to view Myer's Christmas Windows which tell the story of 'Santa Claus and the Three Bears' this year. 

I'm sure you can guess which story it's based on ;) All in all, it has been a lovely night out.

Looking forward to what 2015 might bring.

Lavender in Summer

Summer has arrived in Australia and it's getting pretty hot out. Last Sunday was a beautiful day. Sean and I decided to visit Warratina Lavender Farm.

 

It's a lovely place featuring a tea room serving lavender-flavoured ice cream among other delicacies. Lavender-scented sachets, lavender-flavoured honey and other goodies can be purchased there as well. 

 

We spent a fair amount of time goofing around amidst the shrubbery. Here I am, surrounded by sweet-smelling lavenders. 

 

Lavender is one of my favourite flowers. We bought a lavender sapling and planted it in our garden. It's doing pretty well thus far.

   

On the stitching front, there's been plenty of progress on Moment of Reading. 

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Change

It's been so long since I've last posted that I'm unsure where to start. I hope everyone has been well. There has been a lot of changes in my life. I quit my long time job as a receptionist/assistant administrator back in September. I had decided that I wanted to go back to school. So I signed up for a design course, packed my bags and here I am now in Melbourne, Australia.

So far, I'm having the time of my life settling in again, looking up old friends and meeting new ones. I'm no stranger to Melbourne as not only did I visit here last year but I had lived here for a about a year a decade ago. Everything was just as I remembered, yet new and different somehow. Having Sean, my current boyfriend, here with me really helped too.

Monday was my birthday. Sean took me on a Horseback Winery Tour. I hadn't been on a horse since I was a kid of eight plus being led around a ring doesn't really count. It was an exhilarating experience. Besides, you can't top any activity that's involves wine, right? ;P

Sean, on the other hand, had other ideas up his sleeve. During our first winery stop at Mantons Creek Esate, he had the guide led our horses away to a secluded area among the vines and proposed!

Of course I said yes.

Isn't my engagement ring gorgeous?

 

It's a tanzanite (my birthstone) and palladium ring custom made by Eckart. The craftmanship is exquisite so if you need to have any jewelry custom made, I highly recommend him.

And here's my adorable puffer fish birthday cake courtesy of Alice and Kenny whose wedding I attended only just last month ^.^ Thanks, guys! 

 

Anyway, on to stitching... (Finally! I hear you say? :P) My stitching mojo has returned tenfold but since all my stash are still back in Malaysia, I had no choice but to pick up a kit. 

 

I chose Lanarte's Moment of Reading. I think it's a lovely adaptation of Vladimir Volegov's artwork. 

 

I started on 5 December and this is my progress thus far. 

 

I'm really enjoying stitching this. The colours are soft and romantic, almost like a watercolour piece which is a particular trademark of Lanarte. The only complaint I have is that everything is stitched with a single thread. I'd have vastly preferred to stitch with two to better cover the fabric. I didn't as I'm afraid I'd run out of floss. That said, perhaps that's the reason the entire Lanarte range possess that fine, delicate look.

Lastly, you might have noticed that I've changed the name of my blog. Since I've been showing more than just stitching and with me learning design next year, I believe the new name is more suitable :)

Here's to a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!