food for thought | squid

On Monday I went out for lunch and chose a squid salad because Will was nowhere in sight.  Had he been around, he would have cringed, pulled faces and made disgruntled remarks about how gross it was - and I wouldn't have enjoyed my yummy meal at all.   Yet as I sat at that WholeFoods table alone, with Will's repulsion in my mind's eye, I started wondering if people around me were having similarly disgusted reactions and felt very self-conscious.  Many people are grossed out by squid tentacles and as I became increasingly paranoid, I subtly glanced around to ensure no one was dry-reaching or holding their noses and pointing at me!    

It seems funny now, in the comfort of home, but it is quite a self-conscious scenario.  Australians and Americas alike are not the most polite when it comes to food etiquette: happy to openly reject something new, without trying it, and more than happy to belittle the eater!  I would have felt just as under-the-spotlight if I had suddenly reacted on a compulsion to strip down to my jocks and start dancing on the table!  As it was, I sat there trying to take big mouth fulls - desperately trying to avoid that dreaded tentacle-sticking-out-of-mouth scenario!  And I wished I had my very confident, very loud Greek friend beside me, eating her own squid salad and name-calling the haters!  Most European countries eat squid without flinching and it seems silly to care about the opinions of others... 

Eventually I did feel foolish and cursed Will for making me feel so paranoid about my choice in lunch.  I looked down at my delicious meal with the squishy, chewy texture I love so much and considered a world in which I cared so much about what others thought that I never ate squid again!  Nope - not worth it.  Sure, it has tentacles, which feel weird on your tongue.  Sure it's rubbery and takes a little work to break down... but to me it's worth it because the trade off is the taste of the very ocean!  Meaty, salty goodness: so high in protein, so low in anything bad!

My name is Lena.  And I lurve squid.  Deal with it. 

In its raw form: squid (purple, with tentacles) and
calamari (white tubes without tentacles)

Tuesday tunes {Take Me to Church by Hozier}

Ever heard the saying 'the music you listen to becomes the soundtrack of your life?'  I think it's great and in an effort to account for my own life's soundtrack, I'm starting 2015 with a new segment called Tuesday tunes; where I will post the current song (or songs) I'm obsessing over that week.

To kick things off, I wanted to share one of my all-time favourite happy songs... but then decided to be honest instead.  This week (and for the past few weeks) the song I've been listening to on repeat is Take Me to Church by Hozier.

It's a bit heavy and despite the fact that I'm a positive person by nature, doing my best to remain up-beat, sometimes there's no denying the wretchedness of human nature. That's what this song is to me.  An admission of how rotten and hypocritical we each have the capacity of being: persecuting those who are different and fueling hate.

It may seem strange that I'm sharing this, especially this time of year, but while I've had a magical Christmas, a festive New Year's Eve and am certainly looking forward to a fresh new year, a part of me (a part that I consistently bury) died this Christmas.  I am inwardly in mourning.

Some of you know I have a shaky relationship with my parents but what no one knows is that 2014 was the very first Christmas I've ever had that didn't involve them in anyway.  We completely ignored each other.  We both have our reasons.  Both equally mad, or stubborn, I guess.  Whatever. At the end of the day, we both feel that we are sacrificing chunks of ourselves to maintain a relationship with the other.

When I hear this song, it seems to fuel my anger at them and justify the role I've played. 'I'll tell you my sins, so you can sharpen your knife' are words that are too familiar and in a sick, masochistic way: they soothe me.  It seems I've tried my whole life to be worthy of my parent's love - something that's meant to be so certain and unfaltering - and I've struggled with its absence, but feel placated and comforted in this song's reminder that I'm not alone.

No.12 | five miles to downtown

While I'm on the topic of downtown, it warrants mentioning that the apartment we are leaving is only five miles away from it!  Although we only go down there (on average) about twice a month, being so close has unlimited advantages, but to list a few: 10 min travel time // traffic = 20 mins // we can see the skyline and enjoyed 4th July fireworks display from down the street // its convenient for friends to stay with us when visiting from out of town // it's not a stretch to enjoy a night on the town or one of our fave restaurants ... and so on! 

Goodbye Northwest Hills and this amazing location!  I won't ever take you for granted xx.

things I'll miss about living here | no.11 one dollar to Downtown

The bus to downtown is on my street, runs late into the night and costs $1.  ONE DOLLAR!  That's basically unheard of in today's crazy expensive world and when you take into account parking (which is roughly $15 dollars/ 4 hours) or cab fare ($20 one way), you'd be mad to travel there any other way!

Unless of course the bus stop isn't on your street and you don't have that option... like me in just a couple of weeks from now, when I become one of the disgruntled mass paying through the roof to go downtown! #spoiledbrat #firstworldproblems

things I'll miss about living here | No.10 my hair salon

Ok, so maybe I am being a baby about this one.  Obviously I could still drive to my hair salon: that's what everyone does! but somehow it won't be the same.  I guess I will miss the comfort of my hair salon being nearby in case of emergency - not that I've had one yet, - but it's always reassuring to know that IF I ever do, the salon is within running distance!

A little about my salon: the Beauty Jar (changed its name to the correctly-spelled) Colour Bar.  It's owned by Brazilian ex-pat and wonder-woman, Brizzy Tate, who was a celebrity stylist in her country and who (out of habit) makes every person to walk through her door feel like a celebrity!  She's the sweetest and most genuine hairdresser I've ever met.

The photo above is of me feeling glamorous after she did my hair for last year's NYE.  Since then, I've got my own personal stylist, Aurelia and she's totes awesome too!  

things I'll miss about living here | No.2 happy doggies

My doggies are my children so that being said, their security / confidence/ happiness is important to me.  They were ok with highrise living in Atlanta, where they would wait inside all day until we got home from work and take them for a walk, but they really really love having a yard and all the other features that come with this place!

After living here for a year, they're familiar with the streets and the directions in which lay their park, the grocery store, vet and of course, where their little friends live.  On our walks, we always have to stop outside the gate where Banjo lives and then the gate where Sunny lives so they can say hello.  Even though they don't realise such a big change is coming, I feel sad about uprooting their lives and sense of familiarity, placing them into a brand new setting (again) where they will have to relearn where everything is (again).  I don't know if this makes dogs as insecure as it makes children feel, but I worry all the same. They're presently so blissfully happy!

One of my personal favourite features, and one that I will miss most dearly about living here, is how super sweet all the neighbours are towards them; always stopping for a pat, a scratch behind the ears or just a friendly 'hey there Baxter!', 'hello little Dorothy!'  when they see them outside.  It warms my heart.  Over time, all of our neighbours have become okay with the doggies running around our front yards off their leashes chasing balls, birds, squirrels, being silly... just like children... while we stand talking to one another and supervising them... just like parents.

It all makes me apprehensive about moving away.  Will our new neighbours like our doggies?  Will they even care?  Apathy is better than intolerance but I dislike the thought of keeping them on their leashes 100% of the time outside when they are good doggies that can be trusted, simply because our neighbours may not be dog people.  Both Bax and D have become a lot more confidant and trusting of people since we moved here, I'd hate for them to regress....

my current craze | BBC

right now my obsession isn't a material object at all: right now, with work being out of control busy and me feeling utterly exhausted every night, I can't get enough BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) programs!  I've gone through show after show in the evenings on Netflix, snug under a blanket, glass of wine in hand; starting with my all-time-favourite Keeping Up Appearances, then The Vicar of Dibley, Ripper Street, Merlin, Sherlock Holmes and now Monarch of the Glen!  A.D.D.I.C.T.E.D.

British programs somehow make me feel like I'm home and I'm not sure why.  Growing up in Australia, we mainly watched Aussie shows, very rarely anything by the BBC - although I suppose they were often on in the background.  Now that the majority of my life is being spent at work, time differences matter a whole lot more and that means I'm communicating with friends and fam a whole lot less :(  I feel their loss during the days but once I'm settled down before the TV, it feels like the distance between us no longer exists!  They could be just up the street once more, laughing along.

It's funny, my American husband basically hates BBC programs.  He thinks English humour is lame and I can't count the number of times I've had to pause the screen for laughing so hard, while he's sat starring blankly at me! LOL.  Lucky football season has started so he has something else to preoccupy himself with while I'm immersed in the comfort of the familiar most evenings!

celebrate the small things | Fri 13 June

Yes people it's Friday the 13th... oooooo, spooky!  That being said, I s'pose I should celebrate the fact that the world hasn't been taken over by monsters and that I feel safe and sound here in my little slice of Earth...

This week I'm also celebrating:

• neighbours.  I truly have the best neighbours. 
• the arrival of another Birchbox - always a cause for celebration!
• a little material joy in the form of a brand new party dress (couldn't wait to wear it out, so I'm actually wearing it right now!)
• gaining 'senior contributor' status on Trip Advisor!! (hey, these are the small things, afterall)
• and as always: health, Will, our puppies and our life!

my birchbox <3

PS: today marks the beginning of the last week of spring (or in Australia - the last week of autumn).  I feel bittersweet about this, since time has past entirely too quickly!  I will miss the wildflowers.  And I'm more than dreading the infamously unbearable heat of Austin.  Still, I'm alive: I'm free: I'm young and only have each present moment so somehow I'll make the most of this last remaining week of spring.  Enjoy the last week of whatever your season is too - and have a blast xo

v is for variety

My first visit to an American shopping center (mall) left me wide-eyed and speechless.  Despite coming from a first-world country, I felt like somewhat of a barbarian because I had never seen some of the decorating items for sale, nor had I ever seen such an enormous variety of everything.

 

Some of the decorating items I'd never seen include a variety of wall hangings.  Americans love filling empty spaces on their wall with art or these metal, Celtic looking designs (above is a picture of one I really like from JCPenny). Then there are those salt and pepper shakers and napkin rings.  They come in every shape, size, colour, animal, tree, flower or artifact you could ever imagine!  Here are some from Cracker Barrel and Pottery Barn:

Mushroom S&P Set

Mt Rushmore S&P set

Rain boot S&P set

Another thing that's different is how Americans make their beds.  Aussies have duvets - a fancy blanket that you can use for sleeping.  Americans have comforters - a blanket that's just for show to cover up the bed and make it look pretty during the day, but one that comes off at night for sleeping.

Decorating my house in America has been quite an overwhelming process.  There are so many shops that sell objet d'art, each one cheaper and larger than the first.  It takes me ages to decide on a theme anyway, but once I have it takes even longer for me to decide to buy something because of the sheer variety in that category and because I'm always worried that I could find it cheaper somewhere else! 

Here's an example: let's say you want a set of blue towels.  Where do you do?  How about Bed Bath and Beyond.  Ok, you've walked in and found the bath towel section.  Now what?  What colour blue, every blue-hue you can imagine is in front of you and which one is right for you? Light blue.  Ok.  Now do you want light blue with a pattern or light blue plain?  The pattern is white ikat and it's rather pretty. How about you get the bath towels and washers in plain but the hand towels in blue and white ikat?  Will that go with the bathroom?  Maybe one of each will be nice?  Maybe since the ikat is white you should incorporate white as well.  A set of blue, white and blue & white ikat towels.  That'll be nice.  How much are they?  Oo, that's not bad... Although you wonder if they'd have these at Target or Marshalls for cheaper... so you go for a look.  You find the bath towel section and it begins all over again because here the pattern on light blue is yellow zig-zags and you think that's nicer than white ikat anyway!  It's seriously hard for me.  I wish I was firmer in my tastes because Will and I are still wiping ourselves with the hand-me-down towels his mother gave us when we first moved here!

So that's variety and it's killing me!  Now let's talk price.  Everything is so much cheaper here than in Australia, it's like IKEA prices everywhere you go.  Example: Ralph Lauren lamp, brand new: $49.99 at Marshalls!  Handmade 5X7 Kilim Rug: $130 at World Market.  Full stainless steel bar set, $70 from Williams-Sonoma.  Oil paintings for $30 from Kirklands and all of that objet d'art is dirt cheap at department stores and Home Goods too!  Photo frames from $3, figurines from $10, mercury glass candle sticks $15!  Don't even get me started on clothing!!!

If variety really is the spice of life then I think I'll stick to plain potatoes for now, hold the salt!