February Round Up

Well and truly into March and I'm just now writing my February Round Up!!

 

That's because February was huge.

 

First off, how am I going with my 42 things:

 

4. Walk more and explore my own surroundings

Before the weather went a bit mental, I was walking in Belmont at lot. There are some great walks around the Green Point area which I highly recommend. A beautiful part of the world, as you can see in this photo. The large tree by itself is my favourite tree ever. I've also been walking around Swansea at lunch and after work.

 

6. More Live Music

Yes!! T and I hit The Great Northern for a dance and to see King Tide. King Tide are an awesome Dub Step/Reggae band. A mix of old school reggae, ska and dub step and very cool. I have always loved reggae and ska, so this was a blast from the past for sure. Great Northern (and the now defunct East Room) part of my stomping ground as a teen in my 20s.

 

7. Go on a picnic

Yes, L and I got through a picnic and the film without being rained out (ok we got soaked leaving, but that was after it finished) atop of Nobbys mid month.

 

 

13. Write more, post on my blog more regularly

I have been enjoying writing more. I don't profess to a great writer, nor am I trained to be one. However, I get a lot of enjoyment out of it, and it is for me and me alone...but if others enjoy it, that makes me smile to. I have guest blogged for ABC and Anita Heiss over the past month, plus upped the ante on my own blog and been doing some other project writing. Good for the soul.

 

15. Spend more time outdoors

I've been trying, a nocturnal, indoors creature by nature, this goes against my being. I hate the heat and wind and not great with critters, but as you can see by 4 I have been trying! The wet weather hasn't helped!

 

17. Mini Breaks to my favourite places and try new ones

I like the mid north coast, plenty of places to get to relatively easy. I used to visit Port Macquarie a lot when staying with my grandparents, who lived in Wauchope, and have ducked into Port on my way up the coast. But, I have never stayed there. So I met L halfway for a girls weekend. This was the nasty weather weekend, where parts of Port were flooded and they had to evacuate! Luckily we stayed closer to the beach on the hill at The Observatory Hotel. Highly recommend The Observatory, we had an apartment, reasonably priced and spacious with a nice view of the beach...well, when it wasn't raining! Despite the weather, we still had a great time catching up, drinking, eating, shopping and relaxing. Poor L got stuck there some additional days, we will try and book our next trip around bad weather!!

 

 18. Pamper myself more

L and I treated ourselves to an afternoon at a day spa whilst in Port Macquarie. Long overdue and sublime. Starting with a foot massage (feet carry your body, so important to look after them), then a body massage, then a facial. 2 hours later we slipped out of there feeling a little zonked out...in the best possible way of course.

 

19. Eat and drink out more/20. Get through my list of local restaurants and cafes

Whilst in Port Macquarie, L and I ate very well, for breakfast, lunch and especially dinner. Amazing 3 course meals with fab wine, champagne and cocktails both nights. Also tried the Thai at Charlestown Square (outside) and had breakfast at Peg's Cafe, Whitebridge - highly recommend both. Went to a few cafes for hot chocolate (don't drink coffee) and cake, and thoroughly enjoyed champagne and Hors D'oeuvres at The Civic Subscription launch.

 

26. Go to the Farmers markets regularly

Only made it once as I was away at Port Macquarie for the second one. Got a range of goodies and treated myself to some Lillies.

 

 

30. Say no

Yes, a few times and yes, it still feels good!

 

31. Have fun and laugh more at work.

Been busy and there has been a few moments during February where you wonder why? However, the fun and good I do as a Librarian and watching my fabulous team evolve make it worthwhile and yes there has been fun and laughter.

 

33. Go to lots of fun social events

Well, that's a given. Aside from everything I have already mentioned, I was lucky to hear Graeme Simsion talk about his book, The Rosie Project, at Charlestown Library. The book is now No. 1 in Australia...wow! There was the Subscription Season Launch at The Civic Theatre which was held backstage. Family dinners, lots of movies, and The Oscars.

 

 

41. Have more fun

Ha ha, for sure!!

 

Secondly, here are some other things I squeezed in to an already packed month!

 

DVDs

I watched Decoy Bride (with David Tennant and Kelly McDonald, both of whom I love), Seeking a friend at the end of the world (with Keira Knightly, whom I really cannot stand and Steve Carell, whom I love) and Friends with kids (large cast), they were all ok, wouldn't rave though. Also Rock of Ages, which was even more crap than I thought I would be.

 

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, which starred Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor, both can do no wrong in my books, and it was delightful, definite recommend. And finally Beasts of the Southern Wild - WOW, just wow, it is a hard one to describe. It views like a documentary, but is not, set in Louisiana in 'the basin', it is about an African American Community post Katrina, their life and their struggles. The young actress who plays Hushpuppy was magnificent. She was nominated for Best Actress at The Academy Awards. I can't recommend this enough, it's a must see!!

 

TV

Loving Series 3 of Downton Abbey, yes it is a soap opera, but I am sucked in, why not!?! Finally caught the second half of Smash. It has gotten so so reviews, but I think it's great. Set behind the scenes of Broadway, about the staging of a musical about Marilyn Monroe. The songs are magnificent, the cast great, the bitchiness and backstage antics fascinating. Debra Messing is great, as is Angelica Huston - she should be in everything, such gravitas! And then there is Jack Davenport, a love since the brilliant This Life, he can do no wrong, especially when he is playing a bad boy. Looking forward to Season 2.

 

Movies

Being Oscar month, there was much to see.

 

I saw Les Miserables, and cried and sung my way through it. I was sitting isolated by myself! Hathaway was magnificent, Jackman was solid, but his pitchy singing let him down and I loved Crowe, he was perfect for the role as bad boy and his singing was spot on. Entire cast magnificent, but really with those songs and Hugo's story, you can't go wrong.

 

I loved Django Unchained, I adore Quentin and his offbeat world. The first half was as close to perfection as you could get, it got a little muddled and messy in the second half, but that is Quentin. Waltz stole the show, from the amazing cinematography and great soundtrack.

 

Again, I adored Silver Linings Playbook. (so many great films!) A little film, that had so much love, heart and honesty. Stellar acting and a great end. Plus Jennifer Lawrence acting De Niro (in a fine return to form) off the screen.

 

Finally Lincoln, with an outstanding performance from Daniel Day Lewis, he had the Oscar as soon as casting was announced. Fabulous supporting cast, great story, and while the first half was slow, the second half was indeed the pay off. Dare I say a killer ending!?!

 

The Giants was the film L and I saw at the Outdoor Cinema, a modern French film about 2 youngish boy who are essentially homeless. Filmed in the beautiful French countryside, which made the grittiness of their situation stand out even more. As the boys get themselves into more and more trouble, you become invested in their ending. Very bleak with a few uplifting moments, I thought this was a great film too.

 

Books

I only read one book in Feb, which is dreadful. But I was busy. However, it was a great book. Caitlin Moran's latest, Moranthology. I love Caitlin's sass, style and humour. She is a journalist and commentator, and Moranthology is a collection of articles she has written for various journals and newspapers over the years. She writes about music, film, politics, sociology, her family (especially her long suffering husband) and well, anything that amuses her. I loved her article on the greatest film of all time, according to her, Ghostbusters. She also loves Doctor Who and the Sherlock Holmes reboot, so there are a few articles dedicated to that. A hilarious one is where she asks if Rihanna owns a cardigan. but my two favourites were one on Paul McCartney and one on Libraries. She describes Libraries as cathedrals of our souls, a firm supporter of Libraries, this article is a love letter to the thing I love...so how can I not love her. She, like me (we do seem to have a lot in common!), also adores Paul McCartney, and hilariously gets to meet and interview him. It made me tear up and laugh. If you like things I like, you will love this ;)

 

Music

The new Nick Cave was the soundtrack for my road trip to Port Macquarie, it is excellent, but really, I expected no less.

 

Listened a lot to Rogers sings Rogerstein, the latest Tim Rogers. Had this for a while, but really got into it, I love his melancholy. More on Tim for the March Round Up!

 

And finally, a fabulous album by a 'new' group, Baby et Lulu. Baby et Lulu are Abby Dobson of Leonardo's Bride and Lara Goodridge from Fourplay. Both are bands I adore, and both have stunning voices. So to hear them sing a lot of my French faves is mind blowing. I have just about worn this one out already!

 

That's all folks...