THE ONE WITH FANCY EVENTS + LASTING FRIENDSHIPS

The best thing about my job is that I get to celebrate the end of financial year with a black tie event. This year we celebrated at Eureka 89.

I was still struggling almost 48 hours later with what was possibly one of my worst hangovers of all time, bar karaoke (and inappropriate microphone cord grinding) back in 2007. Is it because I’m too old for a night of champagne guzzling? Or the fact that I didn’t eat a meal the day of in the lead up as I was run off my feet getting glammed up for six hours straight. Seriously. Six hours. It sure is hard being a girl. 

We danced as if we were in the dancers quarters in Dirty Dancing, we sang along with the band until we were hoarse in the throat (cringe at the flashback to Mustang Sally), we sweated until our makeup was running off our faces. And it was the best night ever (but I say that every year).

I've made some truly amazing friends through work, most of which have come and gone (yet I’m still here) and I chat to them all every few days. Here are some photos of my gorgeous friends I have made in the past six years.

After all of the years and all of the friendships, I've been so lucky to celebrate big birthdays, weddings (wedding dress fittings) and babies with the girls. And this weekend, one of my all time favourites, Anna, is coming to Melbourne for a much needed catch up. Cannot wait!

Anna and her husband Ben are the most suited couple on earth and nothing makes me happier than when Ben and Ryan watch on as Anna and I talk endlessly, laughing until we cry and Ben will always say "they are the same person". Bless. 

Love to you all, 

THE ONE WITH THE GREEK, THE IRISHMAN AND THE AUSTRALIAN

I thought that Ryan was Greek. It was his dark features. It was his confident walk. It was the fact that I didn’t know him from a bar of soap. Mr Mysterious. When I eventually met Ryan all those years ago and we got to chatting, I was surprised to hear his Irish accent come out of his Greek body. And to be honest, I was so happy because who doesn’t love an Irish accent? No matter what is said, it’s just always fun. And I’m not sure I could deal with a Greek mother in law – how on earth could I compete with their cooking for a start.

The Irishman = tall, dark and handsome. A true joker, full of craic. Sports fanatic, I’d say borderline obsessed. Considerate and thoughtful. Ever so romantic.

The Australian = spoiled and showered with lovely gifts. Very lucky indeed.

I celebrated my thirty first birthday yesterday and wasn’t looking forward to it one little bit. I mean, thirty one. That’s like proper grown up age yet I still feel as though I’m about twenty five. So I woke up slightly grumpy “Urgh, it’s my birthday”, all tired and not wanting to get out of bed. You know, pretty pathetic. Lucky for me though, my Irishman was excited and he promptly handed me my lovely birthday card and gifts. It cheered me up immediately. Not because of the presents, but simply because Ryan had gone to so much trouble to write me a lovely card and he was so excited to celebrate the day with me. That made me over the moon happy.

And celebrate we did. Another Irishman trait...drinking. I adopted that one last night. Mojitos baby! Radio Mexico in St Kilda was our dinner of choice and honestly, my taste buds have never been happier. Char grilled corn on the cob with cheese and lime. Pulled pork tacos. Chicken and green rice. Hangar steak tacos. Then, just when I thought that I couldn’t eat another morsel, we had birthday cake waiting for us at home. Strawberry sponge, delicious.

However, the Irishman was not so happy this morning when I announced that it’s still my birthday week and that the party is not over yet.

The Australian = cheeky. 

Love to you all, 

THE ONE WITH MY ENTOURAGE

Let me start by prefacing this blog entry by telling you that I’m not a diva. Really.

I had a great day today…no work…just a few hours spent with one of the most creative and fabulous ladies ever. Zowie Evans, my hairdresser of eight years. I adore her. And not only because she can work wonders with my damaged blonde locks, but because three hours with Zowie feels like two minutes. We talk and laugh, talk and laugh for hours and yet I’ve come home today kicking myself at the things I’ve forgotten to discuss with her.

So today we were chatting away about weddings. Zowie was married last year so was giving me lots of advice, pretty much all along the lines of “why do the typical things if they aren’t things you actually like”. A girl after my own heart. Anyway, while chatting away I put it out there that should Zowie coincidentally be in New York on May 15^th 2013, I’d happily hire her to do my hair. It breaks my heart that it will never happen.  

Zowie: “You need to just fly your entire entourage over Natalie”
Natalie: “Seriously. Who do I think I am, Mariah Carey?!”

Hahahahahahahahahahahaahhahahahahahahahaha.

The thing is, I’ve managed to find myself some truly awesome contacts here in Melbourne over the years and now I can’t imagine going to anyone else for hair, makeup, nails, spray tans and so on. My own little dream team is just that, a dream.

And to be honest, I think that I’ve been a real pleasure with the wedding planning so far. I even checked with Ryan and he agreed. It’s been a breeze. No stress. No drama. No tears. No tantrums.

But now I really want my dream team in New York with me on the wedding day. WHY DON’T I OWN A PRIVATE JET?!

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH A SURPRISE BABY

How is it that I didn’t know one of my friends was pregnant until she announced the birth of her baby girl on Facebook?! Admittedly, we don’t have a call each other up relationship, but in the past two years, we have managed to catch up for drinks and dinners every few months. So, not knowing she was pregnant with her second child comes as a real surprise.  I mean, we’ve spoken in the past nine months. Confused-balls.

It’s made me take a quick little look at how I manage my friendships and I have to say, I’m not the best at it. While I love all of my friends so dearly and enjoy hearing about their lives, relationships and what they have going on in life, I’m just shocking at returning texts/calls/emails. I get distracted and think I’ll reply later when I’m at home on the couch, but in all honesty, I just forget.

 Kelly, Sarah, Me, Shanelle & Leanne

And so as of this weekend, I’ve decided that I really need to make more of an effort at keeping in contact with the girls because what is life without your friends, hey?

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH SUPER WOMEN

I have a few really close friends. My besties. And it makes me really proud when I think about each and every one of them and how they’re all such strong women.

My Mum comes from a large family with seven kids, five of which are girls. You’d think you’d get a pretty mixed bag with five girls, however being raised by my Nanna meant that they all have a bit of sass about them, they’re pretty loud, talkative and fun, and they have a whole lot of backbone. My Nanna was a force to be reckoned with and I adored her so much. She was sometimes ridiculous and was just non-stop with the chat. I see a lot of her in me. I love all of my aunties for so many different reasons but mostly because we have fun together. Sure, there can be some hairy moments (you know how it can be) however they always have your back, no matter what. I have always felt like I was the other sister, not the niece. Possibly because some of us are close in age and we kind of grew up together, possibly because I always referred to my Grampa as my substitute Dad, or possibly because we are a close knit group when it comes down to it. They all have their strengths but as a whole, look out! They could kill you in a game of trivial pursuit, out sing you in a sing star battle and drink you under the table.

So it really comes as no surprise that I have somehow managed to surround myself with a strong group of friends over the years. I always refer to one of my long time besties, Bianca, as the strongest person I know. She is a super woman. Seriously.

Bianca and I went to high school together way back when and while we attended the same school, it wasn’t really until Year 11 that we became friends. There was a brief one week long friendship during Year 8 camp when we shared a room with eight other girls  (and I admired Bianca’s sunflower shoe string strap summer dress and her sandshoes that went with it), but that friendship was short lived. Once we were back at school again following camp, we never really spoke. That was until we hit our second last year of high school. As soon as we became friends, we were as thick as thieves.

Following our graduation from high school, it wasn’t long before Bianca and I moved out of home and into a rental together. Good lord…there are so many stories that I could share with you but honestly, I can’t bring myself to type them out. They are mortifying.  We battled along together with little cash and lots of partying but then there were the times when we’d just put our PJs on, hire DVDs (actually, I think they were videos back then) and eat ice-cream together for whole weekends. Bianca and I could laugh for hours with tears running down our cheeks and we never took ourselves very seriously. All we did was laugh.

We’ve been through a lot together in the last 15 years and I’ve watched as she has grown into the most amazing woman and mother. I’ve seen her meet her fiancé and make the most gorgeous little babies. Miss Super Woman has always been strong. Whatever crap gets thrown her way; she takes it on and sorts it out. Her life in Darwin just amazes me completely. Not only is Bianca a fabulous mum to her gorgeous three children, she also works full time, studies and is engaged to a man who works in the armed forces so more often than not, he is away from home with very little contact for months on end. And yet, with all of this going on, Bianca is completely selfless. Honestly, she is 100% selfless. She could be having the worst day or the worst week but you’d never hear her complain about it. She is always there for all of her friends no matter what, she is so upbeat and happy all the time and she just radiates goodness. Pure gooey goodness.

There are often times when I’m tired and exhausted, and I’m juggling a few things at once (you know, going to and from work, being tired, trying to exercise…pathetic how busy I think I am) and my mind always wanders to Bianca and I ask myself how she does it. Seriously. Three kids. A job. Studying. A fiancé. A sister. A friend. Super woman!

I love that Bianca is my friend. She seriously is one of a kind. Bless.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH MUSIC + MEMORIES

Anyone who knows me knows that I love music. I love everything about it. I enjoy nothing more than singing at the top of my lungs and dancing like I’m in a club when really I’m just in my lounge room. I love going to concerts. I download new songs for my iPod every week. The 2am karaoke escapades are where you see the real me. And it ain’t pretty (isn’t that right Mel B…? So many laughs, so many laughs). And doesn’t everyone love memories that come when you hear certain songs? So many memories pop up for me when I hear music. Some I’d really rather forget too. You know, like the 5am last song before the lights come on memories. Why are those ones still ever so fresh in the mind? Cringe.

I’ve always had the most amazing musical plan mapped out in my mind for our wedding day. I thought that I was Miss Thang with my musical prowess and the way I went from ceremony to cocktail hour to dinner music to dancing to farewell so magically. That was until I discovered a few things:

1. We’re not allowed to play recorded music during our church ceremony. All music must be played by organ. Not ideal as I had a whole instrumental number lined up by way of The Verve. Disappointing.
2. The cost of the French jazz trio I fell in love with after a late night Saturday session Googling said band is almost as much as the entire wedding itself.
3. And I can’t even talk about how much of a shock I received when researching bands for the reception…costly. Ever so costly.

So, I’m going to rethink my wedding music until I get it absolutely spot on because music makes me happy and I want our wedding guests to have the most amazing night. To the coolest soundtrack that I can compose.  I’m going to weigh up every single musical option, cost and song so I get it just right because music is going to make the reception a truly awesome night.

Turns out, there is one thing I’m sure of though and that is I think I finally have my ‘something borrowed’. You see, I love the tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. I’ve just never been able to come up with my something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. That was until I was going over my musical styling’s and remembered that one of the songs I had imagined being played while Ryan and I sign our marriage certificate was actually the song that my aunty Felicity walked down the aisle to. So, while this ‘something borrowed’ may not be a physical object, I think my ‘something borrowed’ is going to be her wedding entrance song ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’.

Now…just for fun, here are some of my more fun musical memories. I hope some of these will make you laugh, sing your heart out or bust a move.

Let’s Get Married (Jagged Edge) – reminds me of Catherine Saad (as she was way back then) and I dancing at Bourbon Street…worst nightclub on earth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKzat-kGias&feature=related

Milkshake (Kelis) – randomly reminds me of an old employer who gave me the Kelis CD for my birthday and we would play it in the office and shake what our mammas gave us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2SZPb7UUtc&feature=related

Dilemma (Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland) – Shanelle, I won’t go into all the details out of sheer embarrassment but this reminds me of you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WYHDfJDPDc

We Are Family (Sister Sledge) – The Bywaters family on the old SingStar. Cheeseball fun.  This video is HILARIOUS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbiWK_LqrcM&feature=related

Do You Feel Me (Anthony Hamilton) – every time I hear this song, I think of Ryan.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jsv7j3tj34

Stronger (Kanye West) –triggers my curiosity for Kanye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsO6ZnUZI0g

I’ll Make Love To You (Boyz II Men) – Row A at Boyz II Men concert a mere five years ago with Catherine as we relived our youth. They still have it BTW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV8vB1BB2qc

Never Forget (Take That) – the obsession, the stake outs, the chasing, the tears, the VHS concerts, the teenage crush. Louise, they were our One Direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoO_1FFr56k

Rise & Fall (Craig David ft Sting) – my sister and I would duet this song together ALL. THE. TIME when it was released and still to this day I call her and play this song down the phone singing along. I was Craig, she was Sting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv4lKeSTkJc

Bonnie & Clyde (Beyonce ft Jay Z) – makes me feel love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLhWmTe8kso

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

Ah Easter, how I miss you already. Four days away from work, catching up with friends and family, fancy meals out, a pamper day with Shanelle, red wine, Easter eggs, my new risotto maker, DVD marathons. Unfortunately, it’s now back to the daily grind. Meh.

This year is a bit different for Ryan and I given we’re saving our pennies (except over the Easter weekend which saw our budget get thrown out the window for a few days…not so much) and therefore, we’re not going on any holidays in 2012. Super sad face. There is usually one slash two holidays for us each year giving us something to look forward to, something to get excited about as you battle your way through the long and tedious weeks of work. This year there is no holiday to look forward to. Meh again.

I had so been looking forward to Easter and the break from work, which let’s be honest I was in desperate need of, and now it’s over I have no countdown to anything. Except of course our wedding….in 13 months. Let's not forget about that. 

So it is with great pleasure that I’m now going to throw myself into full on wedding planning. Look out desk buddies, you may (scrap that, you WILL) be bombarded with excessive talk of wedding shoes, wedding favours, wedding flowers, wedding food, wedding everything, starting from now.

While we have our venues booked, our photographer and my dress confirmed, we still have a hell of a lot to get sorted. And so it begins. Luckily I’m already armed with gorgeous wedding stationary, notebooks, folders and a planner (courtesy of one desk buddy who may possibly regret showing an interest in anything wedding related once I really start talking her ears off). Now I just need to start crossing things off my list.

Oh and one thing before I go…this new risotto maker…it's life changing. No more stirring, no more uncooked rice after 30 minutes of adding stock cup by cup, no more agony in my right arm. Simply add ingredients, put the lid on and press a button. The end result: creamy, oozy, delicious risotto. Perhaps I’ll bring the risotto maker to New York and just whip up a batch for the wedding dinner. Save us some pennies right there. 

Love to you all,