Fridays Ash coverage.

Has another week seriously just finished? Is it really almost July? 

I don't know how I managed to go over a week without posting. I've been staring at a half finished post about last weekend all week trying to find words and it's still sitting in my drafts unfinished. It's weird when something finishes and the words just don't seem to do it justice. 

It's been another busy week and I've found myself trying to organise dates and itineraries for my own USA holiday. I thought I had it worked out but then I realised I had a work thing that was clashing big time with the dates I had down. *FRUSTRATING* 

I've suddenly had this craving for more beach time on holidays (I think my most recent trip to Thailand is to blame) so I've been trying to include a 4 night stay in the Caribbean. Anyone have any suggestions on what island we should visit? I just want beautiful beaches, amazing resort and not too pricey. We'll be flying from Orlando or Miami FL and I'm pretty lost with where to start. The Caribbean is not a place many Australians travel to because it's soooo far away and we have beaches and beach holiday options a lot closer to home. I want to go because it's something different and something amazing. HELP :)

Tomorrow night I'm headed into the city for dinner (and beer) at a beer hall and then dancing to The Grates and then more drinking with my work mates. Right now I'm watching Kick Ass and relaxing a bit. I'll try finish that post I was talking about later - if I can find the words.

Love love

 - Brooke

P.S I ordered 2 x lavender/lilac hair dyes & 1 x more deep purple SFX hair dye so I have one more dye job with the deep purple then I'm going to attempt the lavender/lilac hair colour *eeep*

Music Mondays: Kathy Beth Terry

I love Katy Perry and I love her nerdy teenage alter ego Kathy Beth Terry. This film clip for her song Last Friday Night had me laughing so much I couldn't pass up sharing it. It reminded me of all those crazy 80's/90's movies that I grew up watching all those years ago. 

In April I went to one of the Melbourne shows of Katy Perrys' California Dreams tour and it was super impressive. So much glitter, fun, dancing, cupcakes and costume changes. She was flawless, simply flawless. 

Now I'm the first to admit that this is not usually the kind of music that I would listen to but there is something about Katy Perry that sucks me in every time. 

*grins*

 - Brooke

Lunch Fun

Today I went out for lunch with my older sister, her two kids, my Grandma and my Nana. We went out to the Warragul Club and I had delicious beer battered flathead tails and chips. 

When I was in Bangkok I managed to get some film for my Instax Mini (which I had just about ran out of) really cheap so it was fun to be able to play around with it again and take photos. 

I took my laptop with me so I could show Grandma and Nana my Thailand photos. 

This evening I had the house to myself and I had plans to snuggle up on the couch and watch season 1 of Sons of Anarchy - I've heard so much about this show that I decided it was about time to watch it. Only problem is that Dad bought a new dvd/blu ray player and because our copy of SOA is from the USA it's a different region and wouldn't play. 

THEN I went to watch one of the Harry Potter movies but it wouldn't play them properly so I watched Daydream Nation (which has Kat Dennings in it) off my hard drive. Ended up being a great way to spend the evening - really good movie. 

It also had an actor names Reece Thompson in it. This is him: 

He's a new favourite - he plays the kind of dorky, damaged, lovely boy very very well (I've watched him in two movies now - with a couple more on the list of movies to watch). Plus he's super cute and adorable. Bonus right?!?

Over & Out

 - Brooke

Travel Stories: Koh Samui pt 1

Oh Koh Samui, where do I begin? You were a truly magical place and were so so kind to me and were absolutely beautiful.

Where do I begin? Should I start with the amazing hotels we stayed in, the glorious beaches we lounged on, the cooking class where we learnt to make delicious Thai food or many of the other things we experienced while in Thailand for the first time?

I think I'll just sneak a few photos in to start with. Then maybe I'll slowly but surely get to the good stuff.

There were so many different things to see and do and I took too many photos to fit into one post - coming up next, the many hotels we discovered and my faves.

I'm dreaming of the heat (even if at the time it was so hot it hurt)

 - Brooke

Current Obsession: One Day

While I struggle to sift through the 400+ photos I took in a week in Thailand I thought I'd share with you all a book that surprised me in all the right (and sometimes wrong) ways. 

I began reading "One Day" by David Nicholls on a beach in Koh Samui and from the first few pages I was hooked. I lay on a recliner in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to with my head firmly buried in this book. 

I don't want to give anything away about the story so here's the little synopsis I found on David Nicholls website:

'I can imagine you at forty,' she said, a hint of malice in her voice. 'I can picture it right now.'

He smiled without opening his eyes. 'Go on then.'

15th July 1988. Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.

So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year which follows?

One Day is a funny/sad love story spanning twenty years, a book about growing up – how we change, how we stay the same...

It's not often I get completely engrossed in a book, there's usually something that loses my attention - whether it be the writing style, something the character does, a plot change - and I'll read to the end but not feel fully satisfied by the ending. 

This book is so beautifully written and composed that by the end of each chapter I was nervous/excited to find out where they were a year later in their lives. That's the beauty of this book - each chapter is based on one day each year and you get to see how Emma and Dexter's lives are evolving and changing through David Nicholls brilliant descriptive writing. 

By the end of this book I was so emotionally involved in these characters that I found myself laughing and crying and feeling proud and sad and happy and every emotion that they felt along with them. 

A movie has been made based on this book starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess *swoon* and I'm excited to see how they do it. I'm so happy I read the book before seeing the movie because I don't know if I would hold the same appreciation for the book that I do now. 

If you only read one book this year, I suggest you pick up a copy of this one and read it from cover to cover as quickly as you possibly can before the movie comes out. I cannot wait to read his other books.

- Brooke

While I recover from Jetlag

Oh *swoon*

I'm going to sift through my multitude of photos from Thailand but until then enjoy this super cute video that makes me wish it was July 13th already.

*SQUEEEE*

 - Brooke