KEEP IT IN THE PHAMLY

Some might say living with friends is a bad idea but in my experience it's super fantastic. This is what awaited me when I returned from interstate after Mum Pham's passing. Only true friends can gift you a whole pile of your favourite things!
Cider is my current alcoholic beverage of choice. Rekorderlig's ciders in all flavours are one of my faves, though as of last week at the launch of Bulmer's new Blackcurrant cider is high on my to-drink list as you can see in this picture. Everyone else picked a prop (that's the lovely Style-Paws as the centrepiece) but I refused to put my drink down.
The cherry on top of my huge pile of favourite things is fresh flowers. Every house needs fresh flowers to make it feel nice. How lovely!

There's B & V, my childhood besties. We grew up to be three very different people - B's a circus trainer and roller derby athlete, while V's a physics PhD and dancer and I'm, well, me. But the three of us love food so we have regular cook-ups and eat-outs together. My favourite!

My crazy, random warehouse crew. Shaun (Juddy Roller owner), Romain and Scarlet lady - these mofos have seen me through some wild times. I wouldn't be who I am today without Shauny coaxing me out of my shell - love you, bro!

My ex-housies Chris & Brad (Mum Pham used to call him 'Brad Pitt' because she couldn't remember his first-name alone). We keep up our "KFC family dinner night" tradition where we watch trash, yell at Brad's TV and I always attempt (and later regret) eating as much fried chicken as the boys.

Last but not least, Misty, one of the awesomest people I have met in Melbourne. Every girl watches Sex & the City and wishes she had girlfriends who were just as fun and fabulous, albeit a lot less annoying. If I had a SATC posse, Misty would be in that dream team for me!

Farewell, my dear friends. I am going to miss you all so much. Love, love, love.

You will know me by the trail of tea stains. I love tea - English Breakfast, Russian Caravan, Liquorice Peppermint, Dandelion, Lady Grey, Earl Grey, Peppermint, Jasmine, Camomile - you name it, I'll down it and leave a tea ring mark on pretty much every single bit of paper that crosses my desk (well, when I have a desk).

So when Diamond Dozen sent me to Chanoyu Spa for a two-hour relaxation head to toe spa journey as a parting gift (how lovely!) it just couldn't be more perfect. Chanoyu being the Japanese green tea ceremony; tea being my segue into this blog post. Glad I finally got to use one of the five words I've retained from six years of high school Japanese lessons.

Today I experienced my first ever professional massage, foot ritual and facial. A massage has been on my to-do list for about five years...now it's on my to-do semi-regularly list forever. I feel SO relaxed and happy and fuzzy.

I highly recommend Chanoyu Spa at 94 Smith Street in Collingwood, Melbourne. It's a very cute boutique spa run by a serene Japanese lady. The room itself is styled in a very traditional Japanese way and makes you feel calm just sitting on the cushion sipping green tea while you wait to be pampered.

Chanoyu Spa is above the yummy, yummy Wabi Sabi Japanese restaurant - I go crazy for their bento boxes. FYI you will walk through the restaurant with a clear head to get to the stairwell then eventually reemerge in a dazed dream-state and bump into a restaurant chair but the waitresses will apologise to you even though it was your fault because they're too nice.

I love a good dress up party so Halloween should be right down my alley but this year I got as far as painting my nails to match the silver and white fairy wings found under my bed. The thing was, I had a roller derby bout to go to.

On the way there it was all tra la la la in the sun and by the time I reached the city post-bout I was soaked to the bone and shivering. File this under things I won't miss about Melbourne. Dressing up as a fairy and throwing glitter at people didn't seem as appealing as sitting in front of the heater with a cup of tea and two cats.
Even though I missed out on a super fun night where my friend fell down the stairs a lot, it wasn't completely a wasted Halloween. I finally got around to trying the new Orly nail varnish I got in a Kathryn Wilson gift bag from her Sydney show in September and W-O-W. Chanel quality ladies. It is luxurious to paint on and dries a stunning shade of shine and available in Oz. Go forth and Orly yourselves! You won't regret it.

In the spirit of Halloween, here's my favourite horror music clip ever. Enjoy!

This was my desk at Diamond Dozen. 'Was' being the operative word. Sadly I had to make like a tree and leave because I recently watched Back To The Future and, also, I am moving back to Brisbane next month to be with Phamly. Two parts yay! One part sigh.

I've had an amazing year with Edwina Hanneysee who runs Diamond Dozen and is one of the most intelligent and amazing people I have ever met. I won't elaborate because writing mushy crap makes me feel like a punce. Though I will say that I am going to miss Ed and the girls - Lucy, Emily, Katie, Maddie, not to mention our crazy neighbours - the gang from Tiny Cafe and Platform 5.
I learned so much about the creative industries - fashion, street art, lifestyle, cultural events, skate, surf (yeah, me! the girl who swims in the slow lane digging action sports!) and had an absolute blast doing it all. I even got to ditch my yellow Miffy-taped MacBook with Adobe CS3 for a while to play with a MacBook Pro and CS5, which made the nerd in me sing! I'm back on my MacBook Woe now, though I have upgraded to CS5 so I don't feel like I'm totally living in the dark ages.
Thanks for a wonderful year Diamond Dozen. I wish I could stay but someone has to cook Sunday feast for the Phams, send Daddy Pham grocery shopping and boss Little Sissy Pham around like Mum Pham used to do.

I got to try the new limited edition Chanel Le Vernis in Peridot 531. This amazing metallic nail varnish looks gold at certain angles and green in others. It is perfect for the indecisive fashionista or the quickly bored. It is also easy to paint on and quick to dry for those with short sitting-still spans. Love, love,  love it. Except for the part where I have to add it onto a long list of things I want to buy once I get a job in Brisbane. Sigh.

Luckily I once wore cloth tape to a sci-fi costume party - terrible idea! It sticks to skin better than skin sticks to flesh - so I had some handy when my jacket ripped. Cloth tape has held my beloved jacket together for seven months and counting. If you think taping clothes is bad then I won't tell you about Little Sissy Pham's boyfriend who staples his pyjamas together.

Then one terrible day the girl decided to get her head tattooed and thought she may as well take this opportunity to damage her hair since she would be shaving half of it off. She had it bleached and dyed auburn for the first time in 2009 and so it began...
Once the girl had shaved the left side of her head and gotten the tattoo, her creatively-suppresed hairdresser who spent day after day straightening already straight Asian hair or dying hair varying shades of brown took advantage of the girl's experimental spirit and started creating styles for her professional folio. No one knows if this red clown perm was intentional but this is how the girl's head looked after three sessions in three consecutive weeks.
The girl had funny angles and shapes in her black hair for what seemed like the longest time while she waited for the shaved side of her head to catch up with her unshaved side. It has been 20 months since she last set foot in a hair salon and her beloved hairdresser has since sold her salon and gone on a well deserved holiday. It is a good thing the hairdresser has gone. The girl had intended to perm her long hair for Xmas 2011 and we all know how that story wouldn't have a happy ending.

NB: I wouldn't style these shoes the way I have in this pic - disco bottoms plus sporty casual top. I was just super-excited when I got my new Julias and had to slip them on in place of my space boots!