baaarooke

Life right now

2012-01-24T22:04:00.002+11:00

This is what my life has been like in the past weekend. I've been drowning in a sea of boxes that just don't seem to be disappearing fast enough (probably because I've all but given up right now). In other words we moved house on Saturday.

We were supposed to move house on Sunday but those plans changed on Friday when our removalist (my brother in law) had a job booked suddenly for late Sunday afternoon. This would have been ok had I actually began packing before Friday night.

Friday night was pretty mad - I was up late trying to pack up my stuff, failed and slept. Saturday was pretty hectic too. I feel like my brain is all over the place at the moment and I've barely got anything organised.

One thing that is sorted is my cd's - this puts a little bit of relief and it allows me to breathe a little easier while in my room. Only a little though.

This weekend is set to be amazing. I'm going to see Kasabian and The Vaccines on Saturday night and then I'm off to the Big Day Out on Sunday. Though I'm starting to freak out a little bit about which headliner I'll be seeing. I have two choices - Kanye West (who I saw in July at Splendour in the Grass) or Noel Gallagher and the High Flying Birds (who is pretty much amazing). I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO... Help!

If you couldn't tell already - my brain is a little fried so I'm going to stop here.

Much love

- Brooke

Wes Anderson is Perfection

2012-01-13T22:07:00.001+11:00

Can we talk about how perfect this trailer is for just one second?

I simply adore anything that Wes Anderson creates and it looks like this movie will be no different. I wasn't even aware of the fact that this movie was being made so seeing this trailer today was a lovely surprise.

I mean the synopsis was enough to draw my attention but that trailer is perfection - the music, the costumes, the style and Edward Norton.

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, "Moonrise Kingdom" follows a young boy and girl falling in love. When they are moved to run away together, various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down – which might not be such a bad thing.

It's nice to see some of the usual Wes Anderson gang in this trailer - Bill Murray & Jason Schwartzman.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MAY (maybe longer) FOR THIS TO BE RELEASED???

*swoon*

- Brooke

Monkeys, kookiness and lists

2012-01-11T20:43:00.000+11:00

Last week as I previously mentioned was a super busy week. Not only was I back at work after a bit of a break over New Years but I also attended 4 different gigs. Every year in Australia there are a few music festivals and the week after New Years we are inundated with amazing shows that I can never pass up.

This year I went to 2 x Arctic Monkeys shows (supported by Miles Kane), The Kooks and then CSS. All of these bands I have seen before so I can't count them as new bands, but they were all so fabulous.

It was so nice to see these bands again as they have all evolved and grown as performers since the last time I've seen them. I first saw Arctic Monkeys back in 2007 when they headlined Glastonbury and also saw The Kooks and CSS at the same festival. They were all still relatively new bands back then so I think the fact that I'm still willing to buy and listen to their music and go to see them live is pretty impressive (I didn't realise that I saw all three at Glastonbury back then until I was typing this - weird).

These photos are just a few iPhone snaps I took at the shows - not the greatest quality but I'm hanging to get a new point and shoot camera so they'll have to do for now. I'm hoping I can get a new one before I attend the "Big Day Out" festival at the end of the month.

I've also been seriously considering #12 on my 50 things list and I may have just found the most perfect image.

The original image on the left is from (surprise surprise) Jack's Mannequin's latest album art and it has pretty much everything I could desire - cat, asterisk, simple but beautiful. I don't know if it looks better "normal" or if it were more a line image (hence the inverted image) - thoughts?

I have had it in my mind for YEARS that I've wanted the asterisk somewhere on my body - I read an interview with Andrew about the meaning of the symbol and his band and his meaning made sense. It is inspired by a quote from Siddartha "the river is everywhere", the asterisk's is the lines that represent life and all the things around you, and everything intersects meaning everything and everyone is connected uniting the universe. Now I have to work up the courage to get it done.

Wish me luck

- Brooke

Hottest 100 = a happy list

2012-01-06T22:37:00.001+11:00

January is a time for reflection - in Australia to some people it's also the time to reflect on the music we've been listening to and vote in the Triple J Hottest 100. The Hottest 100 is broadcast on Australia Day (January 26th) and this year I'm planning on having friends around for a BBQ (in a true Australian way).

I always struggle to try and get my list down to just 10 songs (YEAH 10 SONGS) and this year was no different. I had to cut out some songs from some of my favourite bands and I know I could just use another email account and vote for them but I feel like that defeats the point of voting.

Here's the 10 songs I voted for (in alphabetical order):

Architecture in Helsinki - Contact High
Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair
Cage The Elephant - Shake Me Down
The Grates - Turn Me On
The Horrors - Still Life
Kaiser Chiefs - Little Shocks
Kasabian - Velociraptor
The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness
The Vaccines - If You Wanna
The Vasco Era - Rock And Roll Is The Only Thing That Makes Me Feel Good

To make it easier for you to check out these amazing songs for yourself I created a playlist for your listening pleasure.

Hottest 100 2012 by Brooke Jagoe on Grooveshark

These songs make me smile. They are a lot more upbeat that some of the other songs I'd normally pick but after going through the list on offer I realised last year was a time for songs that made me want to dance around like crazy. I think that's a good thing.

Happy listening

- Brooke

#41 of 50 things in 2012

2012-01-05T18:35:00.000+11:00

Wow 2012 has started very very well.

So far this week I've been to three shows (bands I've already seen before) and tonight there's another one. I'll post some pictures and mini reviews on the weekend.

Today I had the day off and after watching a bunch of American Horror Story (I'm only up to episode 7 so no spoilers) I decided to go for a wander and use some of the gift cards I got for Christmas. I was walking around Target and found that they had a sale on their record players. I texted my sister and asked if I should get one - her response "well it is on your list".

So I did it. I can now happily cross one thing off my list. I am now the proud owner of a working Record Player. The first thing I played? Razorlight - and it sounded delightful.

~~41. Get a Record Player~~

Happy happy,

- Brooke

2011 was...

2012-01-01T21:28:00.001+11:00

The year I dyed my hair purple:

The year I saw many many amazing bands:

CLICK TO KEEP READING....

The year I travelled to some amazing places:

The year I travelled for my favourite band/artist (a few different times):

The year I became 100% obsessed with going to the AFL football (and attended my first Grand Final - even though it ended not as I hoped):

Obviously there were a bunch of other things that happened through the year including new nephews, job promotions, lots and lots of fun friend times, lots and lots of fun niece & nephew times, lots and lots of fun family times, baking, discovering Black Milk, heaps of new nail polish adventures, lots of amazing books and movies and music and all round good times.

I think 2011 was a fun and amazing year with lots of ups and downs (as any with any year) but overall things turned out pretty well. It was a year of bravery and change and personal growth - I've learnt a lot of different things from so many unexpected sources.

I'm ready for 2012 - the year of achieving goals and having adventures.

Thanks for sticking with my sporadic posting and adventures this year.

Much love

- Brooke

New Years Goal

2011-12-29T00:35:00.000+11:00

New Years is a time where people make resolutions - this year I've decided to not make resolutions to change things about myself because I don't think I ever stick to them. I've decided to create a list of things I would like to do in the year 2012. I figure if I write them all down then I can use this year to try and achieve as many of these things as possible.

50 things to do in 2012 (in no particular order):

Move out of home
Rescue and love a kitten from the RSPCA
Watch all seasons of Mad Men
Read 50 new books
Read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Watch all three extended edition Lord of the Rings movies in 1 day
Attend San Diego Comic Con 2012
Have a Mexican food dinner party
Watch a sunrise
Watch a sunset
Dye my hair blue
Get a tattoo
Fold 1000 Origami Cranes
Go on a roadtrip with friends
Spend a week without Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / any internet that isn't work related
Go Zorbing
Lay in a hammock
Have a fancy dinner party
Shoot a gun
Turn myself into a cartoon character
Swim with a dolphin
See a movie at the drive in
See a movie at the Rooftop/Outdoor Cinemas
See 5 musicals
Attend a sporting event in the USA
Watch the Godfather trilogy
Get my fortune told
Swim with Great White Sharks
Learn to say "hello" in 20 languages
Take pictures in a photo booth
Paint a picture
Write to my favourite bloggers
Watch all Harry Potter movies
Re-read all Harry Potter books
Have a Ryan Gosling movie marathon
Dance like a maniac
Use a hotel bed as a trampoline
Wear glitter eyeliner for a week
Buy a new pair of Irregular Choice shoes
Take a segway tour
~~Get a record player~~ Completed 5th Jan 2012
Expand my record collection by 40
Update and re-design my blog
Build and sleep in a blanket fort
Watch 20 black & white films ("classics")
Go to or have a dress up party
Travel to 10 new cities
Take a photo every day for 366 days (using my iphone)
Go to a zoo
See 10 new bands live (not including support bands)

There we have it. I have 52 weeks and it begins today.

Anyone else made any kinds of lists or resolutions for this year? I think having these goals are going to help make 2012 a fabulous year full of adventure and fun.

Happy New Year!

- Brooke

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T22:06:00.001+11:00

Christmas. Can we believe it's over already? I can hardly believe that Christmas has come and gone and it's almost 2012.

I had a lovely time at home with family eating far too much food (which seems to be the norm) and enjoying watching nieces FREAK out with every gift they opened. I scored some amazingly thoughtful gifts including a Mocking Jay pin (!!!!!!), Griffindor scarf (!!!!!!!) and a silver globe necklace (that should hopefully arrive tomorrow) plus other awesome things.

This was one of the most relaxing Christmas's that I've had in the past few years. There weren't any dramas and my Grandma was super well and happy and LOVED the massive photo frames that we put together for her. Last Christmas she was really sick so it was extra special to have her happy and healthy this year enjoying Christmas lunch with the family.

I hope everyone else had an amazing Christmas and got some special gifts. I'll leave you all with my Christmas gift to you - THE HOBBIT TRAILER (IDK why I didn't post this as soon as I watched it - I still don't have the words to describe how happy/ecstatic/crazy this trailer makes me). Enjoy

- Brooke

Christmas Wishlist 2011

2011-12-04T21:06:00.001+11:00

Christmas Wishlist 1 by baaarooke featuring a heart necklace

It's that time of year again. CHRISTMAS WISHLISTS!!!

I'm actually dying for the Blue Galaxy swim from Black Milk (as I mentioned A LOT) but they don't have it in the shop anymore - I'm hoping I can score one on Thursday in their museum sale (fingers crossed).

I don't have a huge wishlist this year - I could maybe add a few different things to this image but it was tough enough filling this small image.

- Brooke

Christmas is...

2011-12-03T18:31:00.001+11:00

A FANTASTIC new Christmas song by the Killers (accompanied by an even more FANTASTIC new film clip).

I love everything about this clip - it feels like perfection (smiles, robots/aliens, cowboys & Mr Flowers) and it makes me want to dance around with it blasting through every room of the house.

You can download this song now from iTunes, with proceeds from every sale benefiting RED - which is only a bonus for buying amazing music.

Here I was thinking I'd be solely listening to the She & Him Christmas album.

- Brooke

Black Milk Obsession

2011-12-02T22:25:00.001+11:00

Obsessed with Black Milk you say? I'd be inclined to agree.

It didn't take much and this is not the entire collection that I have acquired in the past couple of months (note: since September) and I'm sure I'll add to the collection again soon (since they're having a crazy museum - old collections - sale on Thursday). Currently I'm dying for a Blue Galaxy Swim, I could get the purple but I'm worried it'll clash with my purple hair.

I'm so happy to have added Black Milk to my wardrobe - it adds a little bit of spice and colour and amazingness every time I wear them.

I was contemplating wearing the outfit in the last photo to my work Christmas party tomorrow night - the theme is "A Touch of Christmas". I could always say I'm Jack Skellington and I'm trying to help Santy Clause :) I think I'm going to go with the Mario Watchmen Swim since my family had a less than encouraging response to my idea. What do you guys think? Should I be brave?

Is anyone else as excited as I am that it's December already? I'm so excited because that means it's now ok to blast my She & Him Christmas album without weirdness.

Happy December friends

- Brooke

P.S Mind the iPhone/Instagram photos (follow me @baaarooke) but this is about the only images I have of myself wearing these beautiful clothes.

67 Special Happy Times

2011-11-27T16:46:00.001+11:00

Last night was a trip down memory lane - one of my most favourite Australian bands re-formed 3 years after their farewell gig to say goodbye their local pub that is closing.

From about 2004 until 2008 67 Special were a constant part of my nights out and always put on fantastic gigs - last night was no different. It was amazing to catch up with my fellow former "Spechy forumers" who I haven't seen in AGES and who are still as awesome as ever.

Watching 67 Special last night reminded me how cruel and unbelievable the music industry can be. This band is so talented and put on one hell of a show with amazing songs and incredible stage presence but they weren't able to "make it". It was clear last night that their finale was not due to their lack of passion or enjoyment of playing live. It just doesn't seem fair.

I wore my new Black Milk Mario Watchmen swimsuit out to the gig last night. I'm not usually the kind of person who would wear a bodysuit / swimsuit with a skirt but there is something about Black Milk that gives me that confidence. I have bought a whole bunch of their leggings and this was my first swim. I was worried about the sizing (after a friend bought one that didn't fit right) but the worry was unfounded as it fits brilliantly and holds everything in perfectly. My next purchase is going to be the Ribs Black swimsuit or Purple Galaxy swimsuit or the Tiger swimsuit (or maybe all three).

Peace & love

- Brooke

HUNGER GAMES EEEP

2011-11-15T21:00:00.001+11:00

Oh man this looks far too ridiculously amazing for words. I'm going to throw my fan-girling into the blogosphere.

I somehow managed to wait until all three books were released before reading them earlier this year. I stayed up for hours and hours completely absorbed in the story and characters. These movies will replace the gap felt but the lack of LOTR / HP / Twilight.

Peeta looks amazing.
Katniss looks perfect.
Gale looks pretty much exactly how I imagined.
I want to punch Seneca Crane in the face.
I can't wait until we see more of the other tributes.
I'm still not 100% sold on Cinna but I will wait and see.
HAYMITCH has super pretty hair.

I have been MIA for over a month - which has been a bit refreshing for me. I was struggling to find the words and stories to share on my little space of the Internet so a break was definitely in order. I'm back and refreshed and ready to share some fun stories and photos again.

xoxo

- Brooke

Grand Final here we come!

2011-09-26T10:28:00.000+10:00

I don't think I'll ever tire of watching these two moments from Friday nights game - Luke Balls game saving goal and Dale Thomas and his mighty tackle.

Today I'm going to pick up my Grand Final tickets after a mini-heart attack yesterday we've managed to secure our tickets. I'm not sure where we are sitting but just the knowledge that we will be there watching the match is causing spontaneous smiles to creep onto my face.

Oh I love this time of the year!!!!!

*EEEP*

- Brooke

Side by Side

2011-09-25T20:30:00.000+10:00

Friday night my beloved Collingwood Magpies played in and won the preliminary final against the Hawthorn Football Club. It was the most intense game of football that I have ever seen. We won by 3 points with a last minute goal kicked in the final minutes and a massive tackle securing our win.

This means we'll be playing in the Grand Final on Saturday afternoon and I found out today that I will be attending and have secured a ticket (thank goodness). I'm so excited and nervous and am going a bit crazy anytime I think about it.

This was my sister Crystal, our friend Lauren and myself not long after the win. We've been to pretty much every game this year (apart from the games that were interstate) and have watched these boys play amazing football throughout the year.

I've been a lifelong supporter of this team and it's nice to experience this crazy fun time first hand. I mean we won the Grand Final last year but this year it's different because we'll actually BE there. I'm so excited for this week to come and whatever happens on Saturday I hope we walk away with massive smiles on our faces.

*squee*

- Brooke

P.S Happy 200th post - I can barely believe that I've stuck with this little blog for so long. I'm kind of happy that this post is about something that I love to pieces. It just seems right.

Coach Taylor FTW

2011-09-19T18:11:00.001+10:00

Was I the only one beaming from ear to ear when they read online (being at work it was my Emmy update) that Kyle Chandler WON Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Friday Night Lights? I don't think I was...

Thank you trusty YouTube for my ability to look this up and find the super cute and sweet acceptance speech. I think it was WAY cute that Minka Kelly got to present dear Coach Taylor with his well deserved award.

I have been obsessed with this show for a VERY long time. I've watched the characters grow and learn and have cheered and cried through their wins and losses. I don't really know much about American Football but anything I do know I learnt it from Friday Night Lights and Coach Taylor (who could motivate with a perfectly timed speech, or just a look). It's nice to see after all these years it's finally getting the recognition it deserves.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS FOREVER!!!

- Brooke

Cambodia Pt 1 (starting near the end)

2011-09-18T16:16:00.001+10:00

I'll post about the easier less emotional part of the trip - which also happens to be what we did on the second last day (third day) in Siem Reap.

We woke up early-ish (after drinking until 3am the morning before) to pile into our big pink bus to head out to visit Angkor Wat and one other temple (the "Angelina Jolie temple - aka where they filmed Tomb Raider) in the Angkor Wat Archeological Park.

The temples were built between the 9th to 15th century near Siem Reap in Cambodia. These temples remained hidden and forgotten in the jungle until around 150 years ago it was rediscovered by a frenchman. It was placed on the World Heritage list in 1992.

It's a sight to behold. The sheer size of these temples is breathtaking. I don't think words will do it much more justice so I'll just post a bunch of photos.

See what I meant?!?!? I have a ton more photos from these temples. There was something peaceful and magical about walking around structures that were created so long ago. Plus they were so beautiful - because of all the stone every other colour looked magnified. I even made the comment "the moss looks photoshopped"

We spent a few hours wandering around these temples and I can see how people spend entire days exploring. Unfortunately our time was limited so we only saw two of the temples, but it was a nice taste.

- Brooke

Where I've been

2011-09-15T21:58:00.000+10:00

I've been M.I.A. online for the past couple of weeks. There has been a reason for it - I've been dealing with some things at work which has taken up a lot of my time and left me feeling mentally exhausted and unable to blog. I've also been to Cambodia last week for a conference with work (there wasn't much conferencing happening but that's what we'll call it).

A part of the conference was spent in Battambang in northwestern Cambodia. The reason for this unusual stop in Cambodia was to spend some time at an orphanage and donate a whole bunch of clothes and toys to some very special kids.

I'll post pictures and stories in another blog but I thought I'd share the inspiring story of Tara Winkler and the creation of CCT (Cambodian Children's Trust):

For more information on the Cambodian Children's Trust and to find ways that you can help, please visit http://www.cambodianchildrenstrust.org

It was a truly inspiring journey to Battambang meeting all the kids who smile despite the hardships they have faced.

x x x

- Brooke

You're strong

2011-08-29T20:30:00.000+10:00

FIRST LOOK!!!! Oh man I hope they get this right. PLEASE get it right!

x x x

- Brooke

R.I.P Aaliyah

2011-08-26T23:43:00.000+10:00

I can't believe it's been 10 years since her death.

I couldn't let this day go without comment.

R.I.P. Aaliyah - you beautiful, talented soul

x x x x

Brooke

blergh

2011-08-26T21:40:00.001+10:00

I had a feeling this week there was something not right in the universe. Last night I read on twitter that yesterday was the final day that Mercury was in retrograde. I feel like today I was experiencing the hangover from that too. It's been a ~~tough~~ sucky week for sure.

I'm ready for a new week to begin but first I have one more day of work tomorrow before a rest on Sunday. At least I have babysitting to look forward to tomorrow night. That is sure to relax and reduce the feeling of blergh that seems to have enveloped me and taken over this week.

It hasn't helped that football is in Western Australia and I have to watch it on the TV tonight rather than experience it live like I'm used to. I don't know how I feel about the home & away season finishing next week and finals beginning. I'm excited about finals football but I don't think I'm ready for it to be over come October.

I'm sidetracking now and I think if I keep typing it's just going to turn into more of a mess of a post. I usually like to stay positive on this blog but today it has all been about the blergh.

This will pass - a bit of Jay Z always helps (must be played extremely LOUD)

Love love

- Brooke

Feeling blergh too? Read this post by Gala Darling on 100 things to do when you're upset (the sad trombone list). I'm going to do this one:

"Sing. Loudly. Badly. Off-key..."

Amy, I

2011-08-17T19:23:00.002+10:00

Simply because music this good needs to be shared.

Happy Wednesday!

x x x x

- Brooke

A little trip down memory lane

2011-08-16T22:41:00.000+10:00

Today I re-organised my bedroom.

My mum managed to get some bedside tables and a dresser for free from her work and since I had a day off it seemed a perfect chance to fill the drawers and make these new pieces of furniture feel more me.

As I was cleaning out the drawers of my old bedside table I stumbled upon a collection of mine that has been growing for years now - ticket stubs from gigs and concerts I've been to. I found tickets from as early as 2004, tickets from shows I'd forgotten about and tickets from shows that were so amazing I can still remember crazy details about them. I also found a bunch of old set-lists that I've been fortunate to collect from some of these shows too.

After the pain of organising my bedroom this was a nice little trip down memory lane. My instagram feed was taking a beating today because as soon as I found something that was fun I took a photo and posted it.

This is why I've been collecting these ticket stubs all these years - so that I have something tangible to remind myself years down the track how I lived through my 20's.

Smiles & love

- Brooke

The right kind of weekend

2011-08-14T20:04:00.000+10:00

It's always a fun night when spent with nieces and nephews. Especially when they are as cute as this.

How was you weekend?

- Brooke

Scenes from Splendour in the Grass

2011-08-12T12:16:00.000+10:00

Music festivals make me happy. I'm not going to pretend to be one of those people who go to experience the atmosphere or to go hang out with my friends for a weekend (though its a fun part of it). I'm not there to spend hundreds of dollars drinking alcohol in the bars or to sit around in one of the "experimental art" areas.

I'm there for the music - to see and experience the bands and songs that I listen to day to day in my life. I will gladly forgo food and water to stand around for hours in the front of a crowd so that I can see and feel without distraction while some of my most favourite bands in the world perform in front of me.

Splendour in the Grass gave me the ability to finally see Kanye West live, I got to go back to being 15 by seeing Jebediah, I got to dance to Architecture in Helsinki and The Vaccines and Kele, I had Jarvis Cocker blind me with a flashlight and camera, I got to see the Kaiser Chiefs again (LOVE) and I got to see some of Coldplays new songs performed live before so many other people in the world.

It was an exhausting weekend but I would do it all again.

Smiles

- Brooke

Hate to say I told you so

2011-08-09T21:48:00.001+10:00

The Hives are one super band.

They performed at Splendour in the Grass and while I've seen them maybe 3 or 4 times before this show I never tire of their onstage antics. They have a cockiness and swagger that would normally annoy me but they are so unapologetic it's addictive.

Plus they have the songs and talent to back up the talk.

Enjoy this really old video from when they performed on the Dave Letterman show.

Love love

- Brooke

P.S With all the craziness in the world I just want to send out my love and thoughts to anyone impacted by any of the riots in the UK. I know there's a lot of anger and confusion and I don't even want to pretend to understand any of it so I'm just sending love and thoughts to any friends in the UK. Stay safe

Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

2011-08-08T22:32:00.001+10:00

Last weekend (or was it two weekends ago) I attended the Splendour in the Grass music festival in Woodford Queensland. Coldplay headlined the final night and it was a beautifully epic final performance of the weekend.

I don't think there is many words to describe exactly how perfect their set was. We were treated to a lot of old songs as well as a few new new songs from their forthcoming album.

These photos aren't traditionally right when looking at concert photography but there was something magical about how these turned out. I used my point & shoot Canon and I've realised over the past few shows I've been to that I am in desperate need to upgrade again as it's far too slow for low light situations.

I'll have some more photos from the festival in another post. I just loved these ones so much I felt they deserved their own post.

Just for good measure and to get your week started right here's the video for their latest single "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall"

Happy smiles

- Brooke

A new development

2011-08-06T20:05:00.000+10:00

Just as I was beginning to think our Hawaii holiday was almost completely organised, a little spanner is thrown into the mix with the announcement of a tour by the much loved Jack's Mannequin. They are playing in San Francisco the night after my sister Crystals birthday and I think there is no better way to celebrate and enjoy our holiday quite like a quick 1 night stop in San Francisco. I mean it's only a 5 hour flight from Hawaii.

I tried to buy pre-sale tickets today but since I'm not American and can't get tickets posted out I can't buy them yet. I have to wait until Sunday (Monday afternoon for me) to buy tickets from Ticketmaster (which usually means extra fees *blergh*)

I will be booking flights and locking in accommodation on Monday at the Hotel Vertigo (which is a 7 minute walk to the venue) *potentially - I may find something else between now and Monday*.

Either way I think this was a nice way to start my weekend. I looked up flights and have adjusted our Hawaii stuff so that the 1 night fits in nicely without costing too much extra. I'm so excited that we've added this to our trip - it wouldn't feel like an American holiday without seeing them (this will be the 4th time I'll have seen Andrew McMahon in the USA).

Did I mention they're touring because they're releasing a new album on the 4th of October? Here's the first single - it's beautiful (which is to be expected).

You can pre-order the new album from the website www.jacksmannequin.com . Tour dates can also be found on their site - I suggest VERY strongly if they are visiting a town/city near you that you should go see them.

Cool cool,

Brooke

P.S I write about Andrew/Jack's Mannequin SO much on this blog that I feel like I should make a label for post related to him/them.

Nervous photo taking

2011-08-05T00:25:00.002+10:00

On Tuesday night I headed into Melbourne to a nice little venue called Billboards to photograph Kele Okereke (aka the lead singer of Bloc Party) (!!!!!). I was feeling really great and excited about it until about 2 minutes before he walked onstage - I started to get REALLY nervous. I was about to photograph KELE FROM BLOC PARTY - Bloc Party, the band who's music has been a massive part of my life for so long.

I've photographed a whole bunch of bands I love before and never made myself nervous, not like this. There is something about being in the presence of Kele that I found really daunting. I've seen him live before quite a few times so I couldn't even use the "I've never seem him before and I'm so excited/nervous".

When he walked onstage I had to stop my hands from shaking and just get myself into that "zone". He was a really easy person to photograph live - he's expressive, impressive, beautiful and mesmerising.

*See what I mean about BEAUTIFUL*

I'll link to the rest of the photos when the gallery becomes live on thedwarf.com.au but until then I just needed to share these couple of photos from the night. I'm pretty proud of how the gallery turned out.

**** EDIT ***** The gallery is up on thedwarf.com.au CLICK HERE to check out the other photos

After the gig as I was going to pay for my car parking I took a massive tumble down a stair (only 1) and I now have a HUGE bruise on my leg (I'll get proper pics and share soon - it's gross), 2 bruised knees and a sore ankle. I haven't fallen that badly for SO long and when it happened I was so mad/embarrassed that I wanted to crawl into a hole.

Tomorrow night I'm off to the Kaiser Chiefs sideshow. I'm extremely excited about this. I'll be back with my report on Splendour in the Grass (didn't I mention that I went to this amazing music festival last weekend?) and the couple of other shows I've been to this week. All in all it's been a busy, fun time.

Happy, tired smiles

- Brooke

Happy day

2011-07-19T11:03:00.001+10:00

(don't worry my hair is still purple - this photo just doesn't show it)

Today is my birthday.

My plans for today include lunch with my Grandma, sister and niece then dinner with the rest of the family.

I think today calls for some black eyeliner and red lips.

x x x

Brooke

A picture an hour - 16 July 2011

2011-07-17T16:25:00.001+10:00

I've certainly become used to not blogging the past couple of weeks. It's an easy thing to get used to. I think I really needed a rest and a bit of relaxing anti-internet time. Now that's over, I decided yesterday to try my hand at a photo an hour using my iPhone and my Instagram app. I also made it a little harder on myself by only allowing myself to use the filter "Walden".

So without further ado, a typical footy day:

9.48am - First sleep in for a while.

10.52am - Nail Polish application

12.33pm - On the train to the football

MORE AFTER THE BREAK...

12.48pm - Glee on the train

1.36pm - Still on the train (it goes for a while)

1.46pm - The MCG

2.40pm - The football has begun (GO PIES!)

3.27pm - Cold but happy because we're in the lead

4.37pm - Mega cold hands

5.10pm - Homeward bound after a great win by the boys

6.10pm - Still on the train home

6.14pm - This time I'm accompanied by Coldplay (who I get to see at the end of the month!!!!)

6.15pm - Being the last stop on the train line means the train is pretty much empty when you're home.

7.35pm - When I got home my niece Kyla was waiting to watch Tangled

9.24pm - After she went to bed, I switched over to Season 3 of Sons of Anarchy (I'm hooked)

11.47pm - Goodnight!

And that is pretty much what happens when I go to the football. Sometimes there's more beer or hot jam donuts but usually that's it. It's been super cold the past few weeks so we've needed to rug up a bit more than usual - last week it poured and we huddle up under ponchos in the rain.

I'm not sure what compels us to endure these extreme weather conditions but while we keep winning, we'll keep going.

Love love love

- Brooke

Fridays Ash coverage.

2011-06-24T20:19:00.001+10:00

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

2011-06-13T19:56:00.000+10:00

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

2011-06-10T22:34:00.001+10:00

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

2011-06-08T21:32:00.001+10:00

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

2011-06-05T12:56:00.000+10:00

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

2011-06-01T22:42:00.000+10:00

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

School Reunion madness

2011-05-23T21:23:00.000+10:00

On Saturday night I went to my 10 year High School Reunion. The above photo was the only one I took the entire night - I don't think I even had my camera with me.

I'll be honest, I had a bit of anxiety the week leading up to Saturday night. There was something about being placed back into the group of people I grew up with that just had me feeling a bit funny.

I didn't have a terrible High School experience - there was no massive traumatic "Carrie" moment, no bullying, I wasn't an outsider, I had friends and for the most part was relatively happy, but there was just something that was bothering me all week.

I was talking to a couple of friends about it before heading out on Saturday night we figured it possibly had something to do with seeing people who were there through all those awkward stages of growing up that was bringing back that feeling of being a 15 year old girl again. It also forces you to realise that 10 YEARS have gone by since High School - 10 YEARS! You're forced to sit down and take a good look at your life and the things you've done. I have to say I'm quite happy with my life experiences so far but it didn't stop the anxiety.

The worries were totally unfounded because I had a fantastic night. It was fun to hang out and chat to people who I haven't seen in 10 years. It was fun to find out about their lives and talk to them about what they've been doing for the past 10 years. It was fun to drink too much and laugh and giggle about lots of different silly things. It was fun to see who's married/engaged/single/has kids and it was fun to see so many happy people in one room.

Saturday night made me realise that I grew up with some amazingly awesome people. It was great to re-connect with people who I've caught up with a little via facebook and to see that they are still just as awesome in real life. Everyone was lovely and were there to have a great fun time. I loved hearing about their successes and adventures. I laughed a lot and drank a lot and paid for it the next morning when I had to get up and go to the footy (which thankfully we ended up winning after a massive fourth quarter effort by the boys).

It funny to think about how I was feeling at the start of the week - it just goes to show that sometimes we worry about silly little things and the worry is totally unnecessary.

Less stressed

- Brooke

Thailand = SOON!

2011-05-19T18:13:00.001+10:00

Yesterday I received my itinerary for this Thailand trip I'm leaving for on Wednesday night (6 sleeps!). I'm pretty excited by the itinerary that was sent through to me. I'll be going on this adventure with strangers who work for the same travel agency as I do - it throws me out of my comfort zone, but at least I'll be in amazing places while doing so.

This is the Centara Grand Beach Resort in Koh Samui - THIS is the hotel I'm staying at for 2 nights (EEP!). It's located on Chaweng Beach, one of the most popular areas in Koh Samui. We have a whole bunch of free time while in Koh Samui but we're also being taken on an Island tour as well as a Thai Cooking class (!!!).

This is the pool at the Bandara Resort in northern Koh Samui - this is where I'll be staying for 1 night. We will have a bunch of free time and I plan to relax at this amazing pool or maybe down by the beach or maybe figure out if we can go snorkelling - oh the possibilities!!!

And finally here is the Centara Grand at Central World in Bangkok - this is the hotel where we spend our last night before coming home. We will be taken on a Loy Nava dinner cruise on a traditional converted rice barge. Scariest thing about this hotel is that it's connected to one of the largest malls in South-East Asia - I just cleared my credit card debt.

All these photos I found on flickr so I'll be sure to take lots and lots and lots of photos and share when I get home. I leave on Wednesday night and will be back on the 31st (I think it's the following Tuesday). I'm very very excited about this trip - I've never been to Thailand and it's somewhere I send lots and lots of people to. Plus it's been super cold here atm and I'm ready for some sunshine!

Smiles

- Brooke

Excited? YES!

2011-05-17T20:35:00.000+10:00

When I heard that Zooey Deschanel's new pilot was picked up by FOX in the USA I was excited. It sounded like a cute premise - neurotic girl who's just been dumped moves in with 3 boys and drama ensues. Yeah it's a simple story that has been done to death but after seeing the preview below I think this will work (mainly due to the cuteness that is Zooey).

Adding to the funnies is Max Greenfield (the super cute Deputy Leo for all those Veronica Mars fans) as one of the boys. It's nice to see him in something again.

I guess this will lessen the chance that Zooey will bring her super sweet band She & Him to Australia anytime soon.

Hugs

- Brooke

Team Coco + Thor = hilarious

2011-05-15T17:59:00.000+10:00

I've always liked finding the occasional funny interview online from Conan O'Briens show but in the past couple of weeks I've become obsessed with teamcoco.com and the amazing tid-bits that I've found there. We don't have Conan on any of our free to air tv channels so I am currently spending hours going through old videos (thank goodness there's no "area" limitations & I can watch them) and laughing at my laptop screen.

As a part of the lead up to the release of Thor in the USA Conan did something that for some reason made me crack up big time and I just had to share.

There are two other trailers here and here AND you'd better believe that I now have a new ringtone thanks to teamcoco.com

I saw Thor in 2D when it came out here and I seriously loved it. Comic book movies have come a long way and are easily some of my favourite movies. It's funny, witty, action-packed and really entertaining - a real escape. Plus there is the bonus of Chris Hemsworth representing the awesomeness of Australian actors and Kat Dennings.

I'm so happy to have a new fun fave website to enjoy.

*grins*

- Brooke

*** EDIT - I've just been informed that apparently Conan airs late at night on one of our tv channels. Apparently it airs at 11.30pm on GEM - HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?!?!

thedwarf.com.au A few bands

2011-05-15T17:58:00.000+10:00

I've had a couple of photography assignments over the past few weeks - I think today is about the day to catch up and share.

I love photographing bands - it allows me to try and capture those little moments at a gig that I've been living for years. Plus I like making these bands look good.

First gig was British India - if you've been following my blog at all I've posted about these boys a couple of times. Basically they're awesome and I heart them and their music a lot. Photographing them live is always fun because they're so energetic and put on a great live show.

Second up was one of Red Riders last shows in Melbourne (absolute last one is on June 17th). They supported Children Collide on their tour. I won't really go into the first show we were at (it ended in some guy shoving me three times in the chest and me almost punching him in the face) but the second show (which these photos were taken) was much funner (except some person kept dropping stink bombs in the venue). I will miss Red Riders when they're through - I'll be at both of their final shows but I'm sure I'll post about that some other time.

Children Collide were pretty good too :) They felt like the kind of band I would have loved 5 years ago. I never really got into their music - they put on a fantastic show though, very energetic and the crowd certainly loved them.

As normal - just click on the photos to be taken to the galleries.

Happy snapping

- Brooke

Oh to be awesome

2011-05-10T18:54:00.002+10:00

(source)

These pictures of Tina Fey makes me want to find some roller skates and Hubba Bubba bubblegum and figure out how to roller skate again. I haven't watched her hosting episode of SNL yet but I'm pretty excited. I'm quite sure anything she does is awesome, because quite frankly SHE is awesome.

I've been having blogger issues this past week so I've been unable to post for a while. I've got some posts planned for this week, including an update on band photography, updates on some travel plans and whatever else comes my way.

Peace out

- Brooke

2 May 1998 - The Battle of Hogwarts

2011-05-02T23:48:00.001+10:00

Today marks the anniversary of the (fictional) Battle of Hogwarts (2 May 1998). While I know this wasn't a real battle I can't let this day pass without comment.

I can remember when the final book in this saga was released - I was in Athens about to head to the airport to catch a flight to Istanbul. I was with my sister and American BFF Storm and we had decided that no matter what it took, we were finding this book in Athens. I had already looked up possible places that might sell it and we started our journey to find this final chapter in a country where the main language was not English.

Luck was on our side that day - we found it in a small book shop (in ENGLISH) for some ridiculous price (I think it was 30 Euros - about $65 AUD at the time). Stormy was feeling generous and bought it for me for my birthday.

I can remember opening the book and blocking everything else out. I spent the entire next day lying in my hostel in Istanbul pouring over every word. I can remember reading of the deaths of Hedwig & Dobby with tears streaming down my face. I can remember freaking out every time something bad happened thinking J.K Rowlings was going to kill off one character and then a different one. I can remember reading the battle and feeling mad/sad/horrified as key characters fell and didn't get back up. I can remember feeling really proud when other characters fought back and I remember proclaiming "YES!" aloud when Mrs Weasley finally let loose. I remember Snapes' story finally being told.

These stories were such a massive part of my life for such a long time (I think I got into them around the time of book 2's release) that's it hard for me not to feel emotional about the final movie coming out in July. I'm starting to get the Lord of the Rings dread creep up whenever I think about the final movie. I feel like I've felt these emotions before and I didn't like it last time - that finality is overwhelming.

I'm pretty sure I had to stop myself from crying when I watched the trailer that was released last week (mainly because I was at work - if I had have been at home when I watched it, I would have cried... A LOT). I know that anyone who would have wanted to watch this will have already, but I think it's worth another watch (or multiple), at least until we get the full movie.

For anyone wanting a more in-depth look at the trailer (with a breakdown of the scenes) the awesome movie nerds over at Empire Magazine posted one. I managed to spot a lot of the things they mention, but even a try HP nerd misses things (like Draco in the background as Voldemort wanders past all the bodies on the ground - MALFOY MANOR).

All I can say is accio July 15th (or maybe 14th for us Aussies)

Much HP nerd love

- Brooke

P.S I know massive things happened in our real world today, but sometimes it's ok to to put your focus onto other things.

Today was...

2011-05-01T21:26:00.000+10:00

A new book in a series' that I love.

Curls in my hair using my new "Curl Magic".

Watching my beloved football team win in the rain, under a beautiful night sky.

Hot jam donuts covered in sugar to warm me up on a cold wet evening.

How was your Sunday?

x x x

- Brooke

Current Obsession: Give in to Me

2011-04-30T22:26:00.000+10:00

I'm the kind of person who once I find a song or album that I love, I'll play it to death. I won't get sick of it just the people around me get tired of it and eventually so sick of hearing it I have to change it. I can usually go for about a week or so before this happens so I figure I'd start to share these songs that hook me in and make me truly obsessed.

This past week I watched the movie Country Strong. It's the story of "a rising young singer-songwriter (Garrett Hedlund) gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star (Gwyneth Paltrow). The pair embark on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager (Tim McGraw) and featuring a beauty queen-turned-singer (Leighton Meester). Between concert, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all".

*Synopsis taken from the official website for the movie

It was a simply beautiful and surprising movie and the soundtrack was perfect. While a lot of the buzz from this movie surrounds Gwyneth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester were the real stars of this movie - their ease and grace on screen was something to behold. They scored most of the major moments in the film and were hard to surpass.

After watching the movie my sister looked up the soundtrack and we were surprised to learn that Gwyneth dominated the soundtrack and most of the major songs that Garrett and Leighton sang were for some reason sung by other "real" country music stars (like Faith Hill). To me that seemed like a massive shame so we dug a little deeper and found that they have released two soundtracks - the second had the songs as they were sung in the movie. Ahhh a breath of relief.

Here's the one song that I have had on replay all week - it's a beautiful love song.

It's nice to know that Garrett Hedlund emerged himself into the country music scene to prepare for his role in this film. He auditioned in a karaoke bar then spent four months learning how to play the guitar, took voice lessons and started working with a record producer in Nashville to become a county singer. This helps it feel more real and creates an authenticity in the movie that shines through. This man is a superstar in the making.

I absolutely recommend checking out this movie - and also the "More music from Country Strong" soundtrack. It was shocking, heart wrenching, beautiful and sweet and the music in the soundtrack reflects this.

I sometimes surprise myself in the music and songs that steal my attention - this one certainly took me by surprise, but I'm so glad it did.

Enjoy the music

- Brooke

Happy Shopper: Travel Journal boygirlparty

2011-04-27T21:11:00.001+10:00

Today I received a lovely parcel in the post. After finding a link to this travel journal on SRSLYLIZ.com I knew as soon as I saw this listing on etsy that I needed to own this travel journey.

Here's some of the features of the Bon Voyage travel journal as described by seller boygirlparty:

* It's full color throughout, whimsically illustrated by me with birds in roller skates, cats and owls being carried away by balloons, and paper airplanes!

* It features a protective phthalate-free vinyl slip cover, complete with pockets at the beginning and end so you can store your travel memorabilia (tickets, notes, etc)

* It has 4 tear-out postcards that you can send while traveling

* It features tons of space to write, journal-style, but also has prompts throughout to record specific travel memories (ie, "my most recent meal: _______")

* It features a directory at the end to keep in touch with travel friends and photo pages to glue snapshots (ie, photo booth photos!)

* It features "You are here" world maps throughout so you can record your locations visually

* It features lists such as "don't forget to pack" and "to do"s

* It measures about 5.5 x 7.5"

IT IS SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL!!!

I'm a traveller and I love to have somewhere nice to write my stories as I'm travelling. I feel less inspired when I don't have somewhere beautiful to write. I've always been on the look out for fun pretty affordable travel journals and have usually come up short. For some reason shops in Australia either don't sell travel journals, or they come unlined, or they're really expensive and ugly.

This travel journal is different. As soon as I opened it I was in love. It's the perfect size, not super heavy and it's SO ADORABLE!

I want to go on a big adventure so that I can fill it's pages with my travel stories and little mementos. I want to take instax mini photos on my adventure and stick them into my new journal. I want to get home and be able to flick through filled pages and smile and remember all the fun I have had along the way.

I'm already thinking about who I can gift one of these travel journals to - unfortunately most of my friends don't have plans for big travel adventures at the moment but I'm sure someone out there will be able to find someone who could use one of these journals.

There are also some fun notebooks, t-shirts and recipe cards as well as other items in her etsy shop - if the quality is anything like this journal, you won't be disappointed.

Can I get a month off to travel now? Plans are for the USA in October but that seems like so far away (here I am complaining after I just posted that I'm going to Thailand at the end of next month - can anyone say lame?).

Happy dreaming

- Brooke

Travel Inspiration: Koh Samui Thailand

2011-04-26T19:22:00.000+10:00

On the 25th of May I'll be jetting off on another work trip, this time to Bangkok and Koh Samui in Thailand. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing yet but it'll be a longer trip than my Bali trip.

I've never been to Thailand before and I'm pretty excited to finally get to experience an area of the world that I send so many people to. Thailand is a big seller for Australian tourists and I have sent my fair share of people to that fair country.

I did some Flickr searching and found some amazing photos of Koh Samui - it's made me so much more interested and excited to get to enjoy this beautiful country.

I especially loved the set of photos I found on "element_photography" photostream. These made me smile and look forward to some sunshine.

I want to see beautiful sunsets, drink delicious fruity cocktails, eat amazing food, lounge around by the pool, snorkel and inspect some beautiful hotels. I'm not 100% sure what I'll be doing or if I'll have time to do much of these things but the prospect of experiencing anything like these beautiful images is simply inspiring.

As always - click on the images to be taken to the source.

Happy travels

- Brooke

A new Nephew - Tate William

2011-04-21T22:13:00.000+10:00

This morning a new cutie entered our world - Tate William was born around 2am.

I woke up this morning at 5.50am to a phone call from my very excited brother Nathan. This is his wife Nicole's and his third child - and first boy (they have two adorable girls).

He's such a cutie-pie with teeny tiny wrinkly fingers (and finger nails - OMG). When I had my first cuddle he some how got the hiccups. His whole body shook with each hiccup and he scrunched his face up with each shake.

I only had my iPhone with me (as I rushed over after work to meet him) and these were the only pictures I have so far. I'm sure that'll change soon enough. I can already see some of the features that Bridie & Evie had when they were first born in Tate - it's that lip/chin area that looks super familiar.

Nathan showed me pictures of Bridie & Evie visiting their new brother - they were such adorable photos. I can't wait to see them all together.

I'm a super happy Aunty right now.

Smiles and glee

- Brooke

Quick Update

2011-04-18T22:21:00.001+10:00

These beauties are MINE!

Yeah last week I had a bit of an Internet shopping binge. It's lovely to have all the items and parcels are beginning to arrive. Today I received 2 parcels from ASOS.com that included the above shoes as well as some other delightful items.

My weekend was super lovely catching up with friends and watching crazy movies. I'll give you my mini review on Scre4m tomorrow night (after I watch the new GLEE episode).

'Scuze me while I watch Pineapple Express on TV (even though I own it on DVD)

Smiles & Grins

- Brooke

P.S Who else keeps reading about Coachella this past weekend and dreaming and wishing that they were there? Oh it was beyond torture - I couldn't bring myself to watch the live stream.

ZOMBIES and Scott Pilgrim

2011-04-17T10:00:00.003+10:00

Edgar Wright *swoon* posted this video of Shawn of the Dead made in Scott Pilgrim style and condensed into 60 seconds. It's brilliant - if you haven't seen Shaun of the Dead then I'd suggest you watch that before watching this video (there's mega spoilers).

How awesome right?!?! Some people are so creative and brilliant.

I'm thinking I need to create a "look at the amazing Youtube videos I found this week" style post because I keep finding all these videos that I want to share and I keep creating all these random posts and never using them.

Happy happy love

- Brooke

Shawl I Want

2011-04-16T20:47:00.001+10:00

After a pretty relaxing day at work (note: quiet day) I came home and got in my slouchy clothes (old top from Jeanswest & yoga pants from Target) and decided to take some more photos of one of my new scarves that arrived from ModCloth. Best thing about this scarf is that when it's unfolded/unwrapped from my neck and flat out it has this amazing skull print on it.

It's so beautiful and amazing. I'm currently obsessed with my football team so it's perfect because black and white are my teams colours and I feel like I'm supporting them when I'm wearing this without being over the top crazy fan (even though really I am).

*** See my nails? Sally Hansen is HERE in Australia!! Plus my amazing ring from Shanalogic.com - I wear this all the time ***

I've had a pretty awesome week this week - I feel like it's been really busy but in reality it's been kind of cruisey. Last night we went to the footy again (told you I'm obsessed) and watched our beloved football team (Collingwood) kick some serious butt.

Last night we decided that we needed hot jam donuts at half time and went wandering all around the MCG to find somewhere who still had them - this was easily the best decision that we made, they were DELICIOUS. Here's to hoping next week people around us decide to show up and use their memberships (I have a feeling they will since it's one of the biggest matches of the season - outside of the finals) so we don't end up with some crazy loud mouth supporter who barracks for the opposition near us.

Tonight it's relax night - me and my sister Crystal are catching up on fun shows (Parks and Rec, Community, The Office, 30 Rock and Bones) while eating Nandos and then choc-banana ice cream for dessert.

Tomorrow we're going shopping (I need a new battery for my camera remote and an iPhone case - and Crystal wants new jeans) before meeting up for lunch with Skye (PANCAKE PARLOUR!!) and then we're all going to see Scream 4. I'm SOOOO excited about seeing this movie - I can still remember watching the first movie and then every single sequel after that. These movies remind me of high school and being young and enjoying scary movies. I still get freaked out by the opening scene in the original Scream movie - poor Drew Barrymore.

I'll make sure I come back and share my thoughts on the new movie - I'm sure I'll have some opinions.

Have a lovely weekend (what's left of it anyway)

- Brooke

Happy Shopper: Modcloth love

2011-04-14T22:21:00.003+10:00

** Neon Summer Shawl ** YUM YUM YUM

** Shawl I Want ** Ready for a robbery

I've been a long time Modcloth customer. I wish I could spend more money on their gorgeous dresses but usually have to wait until their "Cabin Fever" sale to stock up on pretty things. Well last week I got a nice pay so I decided to treat myself to some lovely items.

This time it felt like accessories were the order of the day. I'm a scarf fiend so getting two new beautiful huge scarves is almost the best thing ever.

** Through the Wire headband in Roses **

** Fisheye 2 Lomography Camera ** I can't wait to PLAY!

** Cue the Montage Shoulder bag by Irregular Choice **

This bag is by far the exact reason why I placed the order last week (*note the crazy eyes*). I have the bigger version of this bag that I bought in London at their Carnaby Street store last year on my Glastonbury adventure. I love Irregular Choice - so much so that this year when I travel back to the USA we've decided to include a return to New York so that we can re-visit the amazing store they have there.

** Twin Tabbies Shaker set ** I couldn't resist - SRSLY can you blame me?

I couldn't wait to share my newest purchases so I used photo booth on my Macbook to take the photos. I can't wait to wrap up myself up in these new scarves and run around taking crazy fish eye photos. It's getting colder so it was the perfect time for these lovelies to make their way into my life.

Ok I'm off to watch the opening scene from Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt 2. How you ask? I just bought Part 1 on blu ray and IT'S A BONUS FEATURE. 'Scuse me as I freak/nerd out for a bit here.

Excited love

- Brooke

P.S Just because I'm excited that I bought Katy Perry tickets this week for the end of April. It' Darren Criss (Blaine) from Glee with Teenage Dream *swoon*

Hair post - everything is purple

2011-04-13T18:35:00.000+10:00

About two weeks ago I finally took the plunge and dyed my hair a brilliant purple (deep purple by Special Effects). I've done partial purple previously but have felt in recent months that I wanted to do more.

After waiting almost a month for the hair dye to arrive I'm more than happy with the results. It started really dark purple but is beginning to fade/get brighter - more like Hitgirls purple wig in "Kick Ass".

I've never had a full head of super unnatural hair colour before and I've noticed the stares and whispers when I've been walking around - what outweighs those stares is the lovely compliments I've received from people who I pass during the day.

Two days after I dyed my hair this colour I was at the AFL (Aussie Rules Football) and as we were about to leave a lady came rushing up to me and said "I saw you from way back and wanted to come and tell you how much I love your hair, it looks beautiful".

It's always nice to try something different and it's even nicer when it turns out exactly how you'd hope.

I've had a day off of work today and it's been a nice relaxing break. I went and watched my niece Kyla at her swimming lesson, then had lunch with my older sister before heading home. After that I went shopping and managed to pick up a new coat and this dress on sale.

Right now I'm watching "The Crow" before doing some cleaning. I bought this movie on blu ray when I was in Sydney on my Andrew McMahon trip but hadn't watched it. I decided that with all this talk about a remake (YUCK - don't get me started) I needed to watch the original that I love so very much.

Later skaters

- Brooke

NEW LAYOUT

2011-04-10T18:43:00.001+10:00

I've been wanting to update my layout for a little while but have found it a daunting process every time I try to change it. After reading Amy's post over on her blog about getting rid of negativity and loving the place you blog I decided to throw myself into it and make a change. I loved my old layout but I don't think it suits me anymore - the colours were all bland and I need something fresh and bright.

It'll be a work in progress and I know I'll adjust the header (that I have had made up for MONTHS but never used) because I don't look like that or have brown hair anymore, but for now I love it.

Please bear with me as I work through this re-design - I don't have the $$$ to get a pro to do it but I'm happy to sit down and spend the time working it out for myself. I found a great template that I love and I'm going to get it right if it kills me.

I realised today that I haven't really taken any new hair shots which is weird. I have had super purple hair for about 2 1/2 weeks now and I love it to pieces but since daylight savings has ended it's hard to get home from work while it's still light and all the photos I take with the flash just don't do the colour justice. I'm pretty sure I have a day off this week sometime during the week so I'll make sure I get dressed and do my makeup so I can take photos outside.

Peace out lovelies,

x x x

Brooke

R.R.R.I.P sad face

2011-04-06T20:26:00.000+10:00

It's not a fun day when you wake up and find out that one of your absolute favourite Australian bands is calling it quits after 8 years of love. That is what it felt like this morning when I received a text message from one of my friends telling me to keep a couple of dates free for some farewell Red Riders gigs.

I did some searching and found the following statement on their website:

Late last night the guys announced the official end of Red Riders. Here is what they had to say...

Hey Guys,

This is kinda hard to say, but anyway here goes: after eight immensely fun years of playing together as Red Riders it seems like now's the right time to bow out. We're all still the closest of friends, but just feel like the entity that is Red Riders has run its course, and rather than grind something that's special to us into the ground, we'd like to call it quits while we can still stand proudly behind everything that we've made together.

We wanna thank everyone who's ever bought a record of ours, come to one our shows, shared our music with someone, written about us, put our music on the airwaves... Basically, to anyone who's ever given a damn, thank you! It's been mad sharing a part of our lives with way more people than we had any right to expect to. We're gonna keep making music in other guises so keep a ear out, and if you see us at the pub, or lurking up the back of a show someplace, come say hi. We can grab a beer.

Love,

RR.

P.S We're gonna play a couple of special farewell shows in Sydney and Melbourne in June, but otherwise the upcoming shows supporting Children Collide will be our last. Hope to see you there!

After 8 years, 2 EP's, 2 albums and lots and lots of live gigs it's going to be sad to say goodbye to a band who have been a favourite for such a long time. It's another band who I've got very fun memories of being young and stupid and having such a great time at their gigs.

I'll miss dancing and yelling out "I THINK YOU'RE BLIND" and jumping around while spelling out ASPIRIN. I've met some AMAZING people through their music and I'm sure we'll celebrate at these few shows we have left.

Now nothing I do ever seems to go my way,

Everything I do is ordinary.

Peace out lovelies

- Brooke

P.S I know I've had a few music posts this week but it's been one of those crazy weeks. Music is my escape so it's my way to deal with what is happening on a "day to day" basis.

Talihina Sky - a Kings of Leon doco

2011-04-05T22:10:00.000+10:00

Maybe this will remind people what they loved about this band from the beginning. The documentary is being premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival (lucky ducks).

I have The Vasco Era to thank for finding Kings of Leon. They used to do a cover of "Wasted Time" that I loved and it opened my eyes to a whole different style of music that was so new to me at the time - that Southern blues rock sound that still gets me every time.

I jumped on board that train around the time of the second Kings of Leon album and their addition to the Big Day Out Festival in 2006. It's been a constant love (through some ups and downs) and it hasn't wavered even through these newer albums that I know a lot of "older" fans don't love as much. I can still see the gems, still see the genius and still love their music for what it is and what it means.

*** image from zack vitiello - click image for more ***

I've seen them live quite a few times in 3 different continents. I've seen them in smaller venues, I've seen them headlining festivals and I've seen them in arena spectacles. I was supposed to see them in March in Melbourne but I'll have to wait until November for that show. I don't mind - I know it'll be worth the wait.

I didn't even know that they were creating this documentary until today. I think it's going to be an interesting insight to a band who lived like real rock 'n roll stars and who have come out the other side in stadium arenas where they deserve to be.

What do you think? Love them? Hate them? All I know is that I wish I had have seen them in their 70's hair days.

Peace & love

- Brooke

Kylas first AFL game

2011-04-03T13:01:00.000+10:00

This year we decided to do more than just support our AFL football team - we decided to purchase memberships. Our membership gives us reserved seating to every home & away game that is played in Melbourne. Crystal, Lauren & I bought them together so we have each other to go with almost every week.

Lauren works on Saturdays and since last weeks game and this weeks game fell on a Saturday afternoon then she hasn't been able to come along yet. Last week we took one of Crystal's work mates and this week we were unable to find anyone at the last minute so we decided to take my little niece Kyla along to her first football match.

On the way to the match we stopped by Rebel Sport and purchased Kyla her first Collingwood guernsey so she could wear it to her first footy match.

She was far too excited all the way to the game and kept giggling and laughing and being super cute. She didn't much like the loud sirens but she did like running around the empty seats yelling "RUDOLF THE RED NOSED REINDEER" (if you can explain that I'd love it).

We ate lots of lollies and laughed and cheered. It was a good thing that we won by lots and it was an easy game because I spent a lot of the time watching Kyla and making sure she didn't disappear.

We had the most ridiculously fun & happy day. It was such a spur of the moment decision to take Kyla and it was such a great way to introduce Kyla to the world of crazy football.

Go Pies!

- Brooke

Travel Adventures: BALI

2011-04-02T21:35:00.000+11:00

Last Sunday I headed out early to the airport to "tag along" on a work Assistant managers conference to Bali - I got to go on this one because the Managers conference fell on the Andrew McMahon weekend trip and I couldn't go. I didn't mind, I've never been to Bali before and it's a big seller in our store so I was excited to finally get to see what the fuss was all about.

We stayed in an area that was on the boarder of Kuta and Legian in Bali at The 101 Legian Hotel. This hotel had not technically opened yet so we were a little concerned about what to expect when we arrived. It was unfounded as the hotel was awesome and the staff at the hotel were so lovely and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. PLUS we had our own rooms - which doesn't happened all that often on these conferences.

Sunday afternoon we headed to The Haven hotel in Seminyak for a 2 hour conference and then an inspection of the hotel then dinner. I had been feeling a little under the weather when we landed - I thought it was just the change of climate or the aeroplane food and that it would pass, but it didn't. After dinner we headed back to our hotel to dump our stuff and head out for a drink but as soon as I hit the hotel I knew I couldn't head out again so I took some Panadol and went to lie down on my bed when nausea hit and I had to stick my head in the toilet for a little while. Not the best way to start a trip.

I woke up the next day feeling so much better. We had a free day to wander the streets and a whole group of us headed to the markets then shopping center for some retail therapy. We ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach and then spent some quality time by the pool. Someone suggested cocktails and who was I to argue when one of the hotel staff brought us cocktails as we soaked in the pool.

More after the break...

That evening we went bar and restaurant hopping around Seminyak - we went to some of our Area Leaders favourite places in Bali. We had cocktails at Ku De Ta, then dinner at The Breezes Restaurant then dessert at The Living Room followed by MORE cocktails at a bar called Potatohead.

The next day we visited a charity compound in Nusa Dua where they educate underprivileged women to help them learn to read and write so they can get jobs and support their families. It was a beautiful spot in Nusa Dua with amazing views from the restaurant.

When we returned to the hotel I went out for lunch at Poppys Restaurant - I've been told about Poppys by a few different people and it was again another favourite from Sam (our Area Leader). I ate delicious food and had a few laughs at lunch before heading back to the pool for more soak time.

Since this was our last evening in Bali Sam decided to treat us to buffet Japanese food at her absolute favourite hotel's restaurant - The Padma Hotel. I have never eaten more delicious Japanese food in my LIFE! PLUS there was a dessert buffet - YUM YUM YUM!

We were picked up not long after we returned to our hotel from dinner.

All in all I had a great time. The people were friendly, the restaurants were amazing and the bars and nightlife was unforgettable. The beach left much to be desired and the heat was ridiculous but the Balinese know how to look after it's visitors. We were treated to some beautiful places and some magical gems.

I now know Bali is not my kind of holiday destination but I feel so lucky to have been able to finally experience it. I don't know what it was but I was not instantly won over and it's not somewhere I'll rush back to but I can now understand the appeal it has to other travellers.

Happy Travels lovelies

- Brooke

ANGRY BOYS

2011-03-31T22:32:00.003+11:00

Oh my goodness I just found this official trailer from the new TV show from Chris Lilley.

**** WARNING COURSE LANGUAGE ****

THIS LOOKS CRAZY! ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!!!

For those of you not in the know, Chris Lilley is the genius behind Summer Heights High and We Can Be Heroes (this one I haven't watched for some insane reason). He creates these iconic characters and manages to transform himself into them - no matter if they are male/female/different race/sexuality. He becomes these characters - while watching the show you somehow forget that these characters are all played by the same person.

When my lovely friend Stormy came to visit from the USA last year we managed to somehow get her hooked on Summer Heights High - so I know it somehow translates. It is VERY Australian (with lots of cultural jokes) but I would suggest that if you haven't yet discovered the hilarity of Chris Lilley then you should change that ASAP!

I would like to know when this new creation begins because I am super excited!!!

Peace Out lovelies!

- Brooke

P.S I'll be back with my Bali update (I can't believe I'm back - I can't believe I was there for only 3 days!) and a new live band photo gallery in the next couple of days. I have another band to shoot tomorrow night (Big Scary) but I have the weekend off (YAY!) so I'll have plenty of free time. I'm planning on doing very little.

MacBook Pro equals love

2011-03-24T19:59:00.000+11:00

FINALLY I've done it. On Sunday after another tough week I decided that since I'd been paid it was about time I spoilt myself with something I've been wanting for YEARS. I am now a proud MacBook Pro owner.

I heart that the book says this

To some people it may not seem like much, but to me it's glorious. I finally have a computer of my own that I can use whenever I want to.

I am still getting used to moving from a PC to a MAC computer but I've downloaded Angry Birds Rio on my MacBook Pro and it's easing the change. I can also see myself getting sucked into the photo booth big time!

Excuse the iPhone/Instagram images, I can't be bothered getting my camera out.

I've been meaning to dye my hair all week since my hair dye arrived but I haven't had the energy. I really need to do it either tonight or tomorrow night so it's freshly dyed for my whirlwind 2 night stay in Bali that I leave for on Sunday. I have a hair cut booked in for Saturday morning (BEFORE THE FOOTY - 1st round match!!) so I HAVE to do it before then. See look at me making excused - basically it's probably not going to happen tonight because I'm already sucked into watching Gladiator on blu ray.

Peace Out

- Brooke

Music Mondays: Mark Ronson & The BUSINESS International

2011-03-21T20:10:00.000+11:00

Oh I've been busy - well kind of not really. I've just been tired. It's been a while between posts because I've been trying to come to terms with being a "boss" (cue The Lonely Islands "I'm The Boss" song) and living. Which cannot be seen as a bad thing IMO.

I'm back - and with a post I promised before I disappeared from the blogosphere.

Mark Ronson brought his band the Business International to Melbourne as a part of the Future Music Festival. We luckily got a side show and snapped up tickets straight away. As I have mentioned before I was supposed to get a photo pass but unfortunately it didn't come through.

It was one spectacular show - it's always hard to know exactly what kind of show an artist who fills their album with guests is going to bring. Surely he's not able to bring Lily Allen and all those crazy awesome members with him - and he didn't. Instead he managed to group together a collection of artists who contributed to the album but were able to fill in for the "bigger" missing artists.

We were treated with the special guests Spank Rock, MNDR, Rose Elinor Dougall, Alex Greenwald (lead singer from Phantom Planet) and Andrew Wyatt (Miike Snow). It was a group effort with Ronson conducting all the pieces from his platform.

The energy and craziness of the night is hard to describe. I've never been to a show where the main artist is able to take a back seat but still have such a huge presence in the room and on the stage. Not only were we treated to a mixture of songs from his new record but they managed to mix in a few songs from "Versions" as well as an unexpected but hugely appreciated version of Phantom Planets "California" (the theme song from The OC).

This was a super fun gig to experience and I'm so happy I was there and able to dance around with friends.

What else have I been up to? Well there was a day at the Melbourne Zoo, some movie and shopping days also as well as work. Oh dear lots of work.

On Sunday I'm headed off to Bali for a work conference - it'll be 2 nights of craziness and I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about.

Peace Out Lovelies,

x x x

Brooke

Happyness is... Found treasures

2011-03-08T22:30:00.000+11:00

Today when I got home from work I was a little bummed because the confirmation to photograph MGMT's gig tonight didn't come through. I don't mind too much - I mean I was excited to shoot them but I understand that this is the nature of what I do.

My mood quickly cleared into one of absolute happyness when my sister said to me "guess what I found today when I was about to throw out the crimper box". She then proceeded to hand my my Lord of the Rings ring that I thought I'd lost almost 3 years ago.

I'm so happy right now I want to burst!

This is a ring I bought way back in 2002 (I'm guessing) and used to wear every single day (prior to thinking I'd lost it). Both my sister and I were 100% wrapped up in the LOTR phenomenon. We were so involved with it that we (with 2 of our friends) travelled to New Zealand in 2003 and made sure our trip corresponded with the final premiere for the Return of the King in Wellington. We spent a day of our holiday waiting on the barrier of the red carpet watching the parade of elves, orcs and hobbits walk by before getting our photo taken with Dominic Monaghan, shaking hands with Sir Ian McKellen and being called "precious" by Andy Serkis (in the voice of Gollum). It was the beginning of our overseas adventures and this ring was a constant reminder of that adventure.

I can tell you what I was doing on the day that I thought I'd lost it - I was getting ready for my work ball in July (2008?) and noticed that the ring was missing when I met up with my work mates. I remember thinking that it must have fallen off my finger in my Mum's car because I was carrying a bunch of things that I'd need for that evening. I searched Mums car high and low and ripped my room apart to no avail. I was devestated.

I've thought about the ring now and then - I even went searching on ebay to try and get another one but when I did that it just felt wrong. You just can't replace something like that.

I feel so happy to have it back on my hand - back where it belongs. I love that I have it back.

Tomorrow night I'm going to see Mark Ronson (and hopefully photograph - pending confirmation) so I'm sure I'll be back before the end of the week with photos and stories. It's also a long weekend this weekend with lots and lots of fun things planned.

Peace out lovelies,

x x x

Brooke

P.S My hair is not "proper" purple yet because I'm still waiting for the dye to arrive. The place I normally order Special Effects from had some issue with the supplier and they told me it should be here mid week. I'm hoping tomorrow (even though I haven't received a shipping notice email) so that I can dye it on Thursday (my day off). I think I need to find somewhere else to buy it from - this is the second time in a row they've taken forever and I'm sick of having to chase it up with them. Recommendations??? I don't care if it's International at this point they'd be much quicker than the place I'm currently buying from.

P.P.S I just discovered the "spell check" button in blogger. My life has become so much easier! *JOY*

Dreaming of Purple

2011-02-25T18:38:00.000+11:00

*Source*

I've been dreaming of super proper purple hair again. This time I want super purple hair all over not just partial purple hair.

*Source*

The best way to get myself excited about this is to look all over the Internet and find other purple haired beauties. I've ordered some Deep Purple Special Effects hair dye so while I wait for it to arrive I'll just keep dreaming.

*Source*

Finding these pictures helps keep my resolve to do this. I have purple hair now but it's just not quite right, it's not a true purple so I'm ready to get the bleach out and get it right.

I've also got some turquoise hair dye (arrived TODAY!) so I'll have purple hair with a strip of turquoise.

It's been a hell of a week. I can hardly believe half the things that have happened at work. It kind of sucks when your job is directly affected by world events - with the state of the world today it's not making my job so fun at times. This week has been truly shocking.

But I've had some good news this week though - it hasn't all been doom & gloom. I've got my name down to photograph MGMT at their show when they hit Melbourne next month (just waiting on confirmation) and I'm very excited about this. They'll be the most "known" band I'll have had the chance to photograph live so far *eek*

Happy *almost* weekend

- Brooke

Happy Shopper: Shanalogic.com (again)

2011-02-18T19:11:00.000+11:00

Yes it's true - I'm a Shanalogic.com addict. I can't help it, they've got too much cute stuff!

Way back in December I posted about a happy shopper competition that Shana was running over on her facebook page. Turns out I ended up winning that competition so I had a $50 voucher to spend at her lovely shop.

It was such a hard decision on what I wanted to buy with that voucher but I've had my eye on the Raccoon Love Ring by Mark Poulin for a while and I figured there was no better time to treat myself.

Yesterday it arrived in the mail and I am BEYOND excited with the ring (as my facial expression will show). It's SOOOOOO beautiful and amazing and sweet and all those nice words you could ever think of.

It fits perfectly (which is always the concern when buying rings online) and that sweet little raccoon face will be looking up at me pretty much every day. The band is a good solid band without being chunky and it's really comforable (I've been wearing it all day and only noticed I had a ring on when I looked at the cute face). This ring will not be seen off my hand for a long time to come.

Shana also included a nice little gift in my parcel which was completely unexpected but absolutely lovely. She included the Pirate Bunnies Tee by Claire Belton. I don't know about anyone else but the combination of Pirates and Bunnies is far too cute to pass up. I love it to pieces and will be wearing it a lot!!!

My older sister also bought 2 x prints from the Fine Art section (the Luau LuLu Print by Tsai Fi and the Pandasm Print by Cuddly Rigor Mortis) for her 2 kids rooms. I have literally just spoken to her on the phone and she is so excited about them. She went out and bought frames and is stoked with how they look in the two kids rooms.

I'm slowly but surely converting my family to the ways of Shanalogic.com

I seriously love love love this shop and Shana is AMAZING! I shop online because there is so much cute things on the internet that I can't get in the shops at home. I shop at Shanalogic.com the most because everything I buy from there I love and it feels good to support Indie artists and Shana. Plus their service is brilliant and the shipping is extremely fast (usually gets to my house about a week after ordering). I'm the first person to rave about how great they are whenever I get a compliment for anything that I buy from the shop.

I already have my next order planned out (it will include some Sugarpill make up).

Thank you Shana and your amazing team for always being lovely and for making your customers feel extra special with your cute notes and special gifts! You guys are the BEST!

Shop Indie, Pass it on!

- Brooke

Isn't it beautiful - Andrew McMahon acoustic tour

2011-02-16T15:14:00.001+11:00

3 shows, 4 days, 3 cities - it was an adventure alright. I'm tired, I feel hungover, I'm sick and congested but I would not change these 4 days (from Thursday to Sunday) for the world.

Thursday night (as my last post stated) I flew to Brisbane with my sister Crystal to attend the first show on the Andrew McMahon acoustic tour of Australia. I don't think I have to put in any background on my love for this mans music (see previous blog posts here, here, here, here). This was a tour where I didn't really know what to expect - he was playing his music in a way that I've never experienced it before - I was really excited/nervous (IDK why I just was) before the first show.

The nerves were unfounded - he was spectacular EVERY show. Every song that he performed took on a new life when played with just his grand piano (or keyboard in Melbourne due to the Hi Fi Bar having a broken down lift and their inability to get a grand piano down into the venue) and Bobby Raw's acoustic guitar.

What surprised me the most out of these shows is that even without jumping all over the stage and climbing on his piano Andrew has this amazing stage presence. His ability to completely draw you in and absorb every word that he sings is something to behold. He is charming between songs, comfortable to share stories and make jokes. He is a natural onstage - you can tell that it is where is he meant to be.

Every night he mixed the setlist up a little which was nice. Normally on these kinds of adventures we're faced with seeing the same setlist every night but Andrew threw in different songs and played the songs in different orders. I wouldn't have cared if we had the exact same setlist in every city because the songs he played in Brisbane on the first night were great - but that little bit of surprise every night was a very nice touch.

The Melbourne show was easily the best of the bunch. I'm not saying that because I'm from Melbourne and it's my home town, I'm saying it because it's true. There was this energy in the crowd that made it fun, enchanting and deleriously amazing. It was the perfect ending for this adventure for us.

* Me & Crystal in Sydney - My friend Lauren joined us in Sydney & Melbourne too *

I have been to a lot of show in the past few years and not many of them beat the shows I have just witnessed - the bar for this year's music shows has been set by Andrew McMahon and it's going to be very very very hard to beat.

This was one adventure I didn't want to end but I'm so happy that we managed to do it.

From my happy heart to yours,

- Brooke

P.S After owning the documentary "Dear Jack" for almost 2 years I watched it today. I felt inspired after the past few days and I finally felt brave enough to watch it. I cried all the way through but was left completely amazed at Andrews courage and beautiful spirit. It was both shocking and inspiring to watch his battle and survival of Leukaemia. A MUST watch in my humble opinion

P.P.S Thanks Soundwave Touring for taking a chance and bringing Andrew to our shores. It meant so much to a lot of people and you've left us with memories for a lifetime!

Away and happy

2011-02-11T21:50:00.000+11:00

I'm currently holed up in a hotel room in Sydney. If you've been following my tweets you would know it because I'm on another one of my musical adventures.

Last night we were in Brisbane for the Andrew McMahon acoustic tour. It was brilliant and beautiful and charming. It was just him and his piano (with a little help from Bobby Raw) and it was so much more than I expected.

After the show we managed to meet Andrew and he remembered me from the Dear Jack show in Los Angeles - that was super unexpected but really lovely.

Since I'm writing this on the road (on my iPhone) I'll stop here. I'll be back next week with the full update - I just wanted to check in and share.

Peace out lovelies!
- Brooke

Music Mondays: RIP The White Stripes

2011-02-07T22:41:00.000+11:00

* My photo from BDO January 2006 *

The first time I got the experience The White Stripes live was in January 2006. I saw them first at Festival Hall and then the following day at the Big Day Out in Princess Park in Melbourne.

I didn't really fully appreciate that these two times were the only times I'd get to see them. Last week they announced that they were no longer a band and it hit me with a kind of sadness that I did not expect. Their music has been a part of my life for so long that it feels weird that there won't be anything new to add to the collection.

“The White Stripes do not belong to Meg and Jack anymore. The White Stripes belong to you now and you can do with it whatever you want. The beauty of art and music is that it can last forever if people want it to. Thank you for sharing this experience. Your involvement will never be lost on us and we are truly grateful.”

Sincerely,

Meg and Jack White

The White Stripes

* Click on photo for source *

A super cool band who will be greatly missed.

Peace out

- Brooke

Instax 52 weeks - week 5

2011-02-06T18:00:00.001+11:00

Week 5 of 52

I don't own much vinyl. I don't actually have a working record player at the moment but I cant help but collect them anyway. There's something simply beautiful about vinyl records don't you agree?

This vinyl is super special to me. It's the anniversary edition of the debut album from Jack's Mannequin. I've listened to this album more times than I could possibly count and it's by far one of my absolute favorite albums to listen to. It reminds me of summertime and smiles. It's my go to album when I'm feeling blue.

This Thursday I'm heading out on a mini break to Brisbane and Sydney to see Andrew McMahon perform acoustically a mix of songs from both Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin. I'll be going to three shows over four days and will be in a little piece of heaven. We're also going to check out the Annie Leibowitz exhibition while in Sydney. It's going to be a fun week!

Peace out
- Brooke

CSS @ The Corner Hotel

2011-02-03T18:45:00.002+11:00

Thursday is like Tuesday right? Well it's better late than never.

On Saturday night we headed into the Corner Hotel in Richmond to see CSS live. We've seen them a few times before and it's always been a fun dance party type of gig so we knew at the least it would be an evening of fun.

*** This is the only picture of me and Lauren (or anyone other than the band) that I got that night. We're so PINK ***

The festivities began in the car as Lauren and I enjoyed our Vodka & Cranberry car drinks so by the time we'd made it to The Corner Hotel we were amped for Tequila shots and more vodka. We then mosied on up to the front of the stage where we found a new gig buddy that Lauren and Leah had be-friended at The Rapture gig last month.

Lovefoxx has chopped all her hair off and rid herself of those crazy jumpsuits that we had grown to love to bring the party in cut offs and home made t-shirts.

The band brought a more casual approach to their show this time around but it didn't remove any of the fun. The atmosphere that was coming from both band and crowd was electric.

At some stage in the show glitter was thrown all over the stage and onto the crowd - I'm still finding pieces of glitter in my bedroom.

We danced, smiled and sang along and had a super fun time. I can't wait for them to release some new music and get their butts back to Australia again. Hopefully this time we won't have to wait 3 years between visits.

This week has been crazy again at work . Being a travel agent sometimes we have to deal with crazy situations like trying to get people out of Egypt while there are riots and protests happening. It's been a bit stressful this week but I'm ready to go out and relax while watching the Greenhornes tonight at Northcote Social Club.

Peace Out

- Brooke

P.S Is anyone else super sad about The White Stripes being done? I know they haven't released anything in years but the fact that they've announced that it's really over brings on the sad face. Their music has been such a huge part of my life for so long that it's hard to believe that there won't be anymore new stuff to add to the collection. I'm sure I'll sit down sometime soon and post a bit more about this.

Music Mondays: The Lonely Island

2011-01-31T21:11:00.000+11:00

IDK what's not to love about the latest digital short from The Lonely Island - John Waters, nerds, creppyness, Nicki Minaj and Jorma. This video just makes me super excited for their next album.

I love this more than I could possible put into words.

Peace Out

- Brooke

Instax 52 weeks - week 4

2011-01-30T22:55:00.001+11:00

Week 4 of 52

This is a clown that I have had for as long as I can remember. It's losing its yarn hair and a lot of the face paint has disappeared but I love it anyway.

It's been a scorcher of a day today and I've spent the day in our cool house watching blu ray DVDs (are they still DVDs?) on my new blu ray player.

I'll be back tomorrow or Tuesday to share pics from last nights CSS gig - what a super rad night that was!!

Peace out
- Brooke

Purple Again

2011-01-29T16:53:00.000+11:00

If you couldn't tell already I get very bored with normal coloured hair. Even though over Christmast it felt festive and fun to have bright red hair I had gotten to the point of boredom once again. Add to that the fact that everytime I went anywhere I would see a whole bunch of people with the exact same coloured hair as mine and it was time for a change.

Last night I put a packet mix purple hair dye directly over the red. The last time I dyed my hair red I used the Schwarzkopf new Excellence range and I was happy with how even it came out so I decided to try my luck again and purchased the Brilliance Luminance in the Ultra Violet.

Purple feels like my go to colour when I'm feeling bored. I usually only dye the underneath or a partial chunk of my hair purple but this year I'm going to be brave and embrace the whole head of purpleness.

I love it. It came out so much more even and vibrant than I expected and has mixed so well with the existing red that was already covering my hair. It'll be interesting to see how long this colour holds and what colour it fades to. I think next time I might have to invest in some SFX hair colour but for now this is perfect.

I really would love to put a streak of turquoise in the side of this hair - maybe that will be step 2.

What do you think? Do you have a go to hair colour?

Peace out

- Brooke

P.S It appears the only place inside my house that I can get great lighting is in the bathroom with me sitting in the bath or leaning over it. Does that happen to anyone else? What are some tips for getting better natural light in your shots? What do you do?

P.P.S That necklace was a Christmas gift that my sisters bought from Shanalogic.com - you can get your own HERE. The silver stars in my hair are Christmas card peg clips that I bought from Big W super cheap. I have a whole bunch of them just laying around. I use them to display my instax mini photos but I think the silver goes well with my new hair colour.

Fortune Cookie Hottest 100

2011-01-27T22:21:00.000+11:00

Yesterday was Australia Day so as any Australian does I hung out with friends eating lamb (well they ate lamb - I ate chicken), drinking and listened to Triple J's Hottest 100.

This year to make things interesting Lauren had some fortune cookies and on the back of these fortunes were a bunch of numbers - we decided that these numbers corresponded with the numbers of songs in the countdown and the person with the worst song would get pushed in Laurens pool. We were letting fate decided who'd end up sad and drenched for our amusement.

* My fortune*

My fortune cookie list:
#2 Big Red - Rock It
#17 Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. - Bang Bang Bang {ft MNDR & Q Tip)
#28 Darwin Deez – Radar Detector
#33 Tame Impala – Solitude Is Bliss
#36 Chiddy Bang – Opposite Of Adults
#42 Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill

All in all I think I ended up with a pretty good list - though I don't much rate Tame Impala.

Leah's list:
#5 Boy & Bear – Fall At Your Feet
#22 Children Collide – Jellylegs
#25 Gotye – Eyes Wide Open
#26 Crystal Castles – Not In Love {Ft. Robert Smith}
#30 Yeasayer – O.N.E
#32 Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks

Lauren's list:
#5 Boy & Bear – Fall At Your Feet
#16 The Jezabels – Mace Spray
#18 Cloud Control – There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight
#28 Darwin Deez – Radar Detector
#31 The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio
#37 Gorillaz – Doncamatic {Ft. Daley}

Crystal's list:
#1 Angus & Julia Stone – Big Jet Plane
#12 Drapht – Rapunzel
#15 Duck Sauce – Barbara Streisand
#22 Children Collide – Jellylegs
#26 Crystal Castles – Not In Love {Ft. Robert Smith}
#35 Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. – The Bike Song {Ft. Kyle Falconer & Spank Rock}

We decided Leah lost with the Foster The People song purely because we didn't know it all that well. She didn't end up in the pool.

Crystal had to work and turned up to Laurens to pick me up about 6pm. We were supposed to go to the movies that evening but since I had been enjoying a few beverages and the countdown was still in the 30's she didn't make me go (sometimes sisters can be nice).

I was supposed to dye my hair purple yesterday but as you can probably guess I got distracted. I thought I would have time to do it tonight but we went and saw True Grit (AMAZING). I think I needed some subtitles when Jeff Bridges was mumbling to understand his drunken rants but it was a marvellous movie. I have to dye my hair tomorrow night because I want purple hair for CSS on Saturday night. I'm pretty nervous to see how the purple takes over the red. It should turn out interesting enough (I hope).

Oh I'm far too busy for my own good.

Over and Out

- Brooke

Music Mondays: CSS

2011-01-24T19:34:00.001+11:00

Today I'm going back to what I planned to share last Monday (before I was distracted) - CSS.

CSS are a band originating from Sao Paulo Brazil and are known for their dance-rock-indie-pop-sexy music (I think that's an apt description). After signing to SupPop Records the band released an English version of their very popular debut album CSS.

It was late 2006 that I was introduced to this glorious band. They had just performed an intimate show at Revolver Nightclub in Melbourne and I was reading all about it (but not actually going to the gig) online through friends of friends of friends. I was working at a record store at the time and decided to give their album a listen while I was pricing stock - it was instant addiction.

Their music is catchy, fun, cheeky, energetic, gleeful and when listening to their music I feel like I'm at the coolest party in the world (even if I'm in my bathroom by myself getting ready to start the day). I've had the pleasure of seeing them at big music festivals (Glastonbury), smaller venues and big venues. Every time it's a bright explosion of fun.

This Saturday night I get to see them at The Corner Hotel in Richmond and I am so excited I could squeel. It's been almost 3 years since I last saw them at the last V Festival in Melbourne and the closer it gets to this show the more I realise I've missed going to a seriously fun gig.

I love CSS and so should YOU!

WEBSITE: HERE
TWITTER: HERE
FACEBOOK: HERE
MYSPACE: HERE

Peace Out Lovelies!

- Brooke

Instax 52 weeks - week 3

2011-01-23T18:29:00.000+11:00

Week 3 of 52.

My puppy is so cute but sometimes can be so difficult to photograph. He's a bit too hyper and big and hairy but I love him to pieces.

It's been a great weekend. Today I went shopping and although I only bought a heart shaped bag (cute!!!!) I managed to overcome that shopping sadness with a viewing of Black Swan and Salsa for lunch. While I'm on the Black Swan subject I just want to join in on the super love fest that's circulating for Natalie Portman and this movie. It was INTENSE! Brilliantly acted and created and just simply amazing.

Time for me to relax and de-tense by watching Sweet Home Alabama (I know what a change).

Peace out friends
- Brooke

Why I Love: Parks & Recreation

2011-01-20T18:21:00.000+11:00

Rob Lowe Goes Nuts from Rob Lowe

Oh it's almost back. I'm so excited I can barely contain it. This show would have to be one of my favourite comedies to come out of the USA in the past few years (it's on par with Community and The Office - I love it THAT much).

It's a cute funny little show filmed in the same faux documentary style as The Office but it centres around a small Parks department in Pawnee. It has the quirky characters, the loveable characters and the down right mental characters.

I'm more excited about season 3 because they've somehow managed to get Rob Lowe and Adam Scott to join the cast on a reoccuring basis. Oh man this season is going to be great! *EXCITED FACE*

Check out their official website HERE

Buy Season 1 HERE and Season 2 HERE from Amazon (or for Australian buyers get Season 1 from JB Hi-Fi HERE)

Do you guys have any shows that you're looking forward to starting soon?

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

Music Mondays: I really needed this

2011-01-18T19:11:00.002+11:00

I know this is a day late. I really wanted to post this last night but our computer was scanning for viruses and my iPad was not allowing me to embed.

Last night I intended to post about CSS but then in my youtube searching I came across this video of The Killers live at Glastonbury 2007 and my decision on what to post was made for me.

I was actually in the front row of this crowd and it was one the greatest concert moments of my life. There is not many things better than being in a crowd of multiple thousands of people chanting "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier".

Just watch it and maybe you'll understand a tiny bit.

I was going to let this one wait until next week but I needed to watch this again today for my sanity.

Can I go back to this moment please?

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

Instax 52 weeks - week 2

2011-01-16T18:43:00.000+11:00

I promised that all my instax photos wouldn't be of my nieces and nephew but when they're this cute on film it's hard to not include them.

Oh I'm going to love this project. The nieces are obsessed with this camera. I think they love the fact that a photo pops out straight away. They are facinated with the mini photos and LOVE to watch them develop. The squeal, yell and giggle as the photos develop then they run around showing everyone the finished photos - so cute!

How's everyone elses Instax projects going? Remember share links so I can check them out!

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

Sideshow madness

2011-01-14T22:17:00.002+11:00

Last week was such a busy week for me. Not only was it my first week as the official store manager at my travel agency (hello promotion!) but we had a bunch of Falls Festival sideshows to experience. Summer festival time is always my favorite time of the year - there are so many amazing bands performing in our city. Not only did I head out to see Lightspeed Champion but I managed to see 3 other favorite bands.

Hot Hot Heat played at the Corner Hotel in Richmond on Monday the 3rd. I always have so much fun at a Hot Hot Heat show. Lead singer Steve has the best Afro in the biz and is the best front man to have staring contests with.

Their music reminds me of our time in London. We we living in London when their 3rd album was released and as we had limited access to new music it was on high rotation in our room. Their music is fun and has a great punch to it.

INTERPOL INTERPOL INTERPOL!!! Interpol played at the Palace Theatre in Melbourne on Friday the 7th. As I mentioned previously I have so much love for this band. They are captivating, brooding, enthralling and I simply can't get enough. Friday night was no exception.

Not only did we get a fine collection of older songs but they also played a gripping version of The New & ended the night with one of my favorite encore song selections ever (NYC, PDA & Not Even Jail). Perfection!

**** OMG HOW YOUNG DOES MR BANKS LOOK (/end fangirl moment - but srsly *swoon*)****

Saturday the 8th we returned to the Corner Hotel for a super fun dance party with The Rapture. It was a stinking hot day and though it had cooled down by the evening it was a sweaty dancing evening finished off with a stage invasion.

All in all a very fun week. It's not over yet music wise. This month I'm going to see CSS at the Corner Hotel and then next month it's 3 Andrew McMahon shows across the country (weather permitting).

I re-dyed my hair last night and went and had a trim today. I'm currently sitting on my futon watching Harry Potter #3 (I'm having my own little marathon) and all I can smell is my dog. He has that horrible wet dog smell because we've had some mental weather here this week. I'm not going to complain about it anymore though because there are people out there dealing with a much more temperamental mother nature than we are ATM.

Gotta go enjoy the rest of this movie & paint my nails.

Glitter sparks & Happyness
x x x

Brooke

52 weeks

2011-01-09T19:11:00.002+11:00

It's decided - I'm joining in.

I've always wanted to do a 365 photo project but I know my attention span would destroy my ability to keep taking a photo a day for a whole year. I saw over on Kaylahs' blog that she's doing 52 weeks of Instax and I think it's a brilliant idea.

I am going to take at least one Instax Mini photo per week and will post it here on the blog every week. I'm thinking I'll post it every Sunday because it seems like a day that I'll be home.

**** EDIT - I've also joined the 52 weeks flickr group created by Veronica over at Crack the Sky - she created this awesome button that links to the flickr group that I have on the side of my page (and below). It's a lovely place where we can all share our journeys.

Let me know if you're doing it too so I can check out all the different pics - I'll try my hardest for them all to not just be my nieces and nephew. I can't promise anything though - they take the cutest pictures.

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

thedwarf.com.au Lightspeed Champion

2011-01-08T12:37:00.001+11:00

Last Sunday I ventured out after a day of pyjama wearing watching movies to the East Brunswick Club to photograph Lightspeed Champion's Pyramid Rock Festival Sideshow for thedwarf.com.au (geez try saying that sentance 3 times fast).

I arrived at the venue at 9.45pm (which is relatively early) to find that he was already on-stage - thankfully this was to be an early show which meant a not too late night.

* As always - click on the image to be taken to the gallery at thedwarf.com.au *

To be honest I was a little worred about this gig - usually the lighting at the EBC is not the best and it's a pretty dark venue at the best of times - add to that Dev's delicious dark skin and I was worried I wouldn't capture him as well as I should. My worries were not warranted - not only was the lighting moody and atmospheric (but still bright enough) but my newest lens is so awesome the photos turned out lovely. I must be getting better at this.

* As always - click on the image to be taken to the gallery at thedwarf.com.au *

The show was glorious - Dev was sweet and charming and his voice was beautiful. I've listened to a little bit of his cd's before but I don't think I've given them enough of my time - his music is delightful.

Check out more of his music at his webite HERE, at his myspace HERE, on his flickr HERE

I've been a busy girl this week - it was my first week as the official manager of my travel agency, I helped unpack all my Grandmas stuff at her new house, and I've seen many lovely bands (one more tonght). I think I'll post some more photos from the bands (all p&s camera) in one blog after tonights show - seems the easier way to write all about them.

Today I'm going to relax, try to stay cool and eat an icy pole before trying to get myself ready in this heat for tonight. It feels like summer has finally arrived.

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

Falls Festival 2010 - 2011

2011-01-05T18:22:00.000+11:00

New Years can sometimes be a big disappointment so the best way to combat that is to go to a 2 day music festival interstate. We've been terribly unfortunate to miss out on ballot tickets for the Falls Festival in Lorne Victoria (our home state) so this was the second year that we decided to cross the Bass Strait and head to Marion Bay in Tasmania for the much more relaxed version of the Falls Festival.

Rather than using my words to try and explain the couple of days when we camped near the beach and listened to glorious music, I'm going to use some pictures - more after the "jump" (lots more!)

We got stuck camping near the toilets - luckily for us the wind didn't blow the smell in our direction.

A view of one of the campsites on the first day - we were down the hill to the left. IDK what Lauren and Crystal were doing in this photo but it makes me laugh.

Our diet consited of potato, potato, potato - and I wondered why by day 2 I was having stomache aches.

The stomache ache was worth it when we discovered these Tornado Potatoes. They would have to be the greatest festival food invention - it's potato, cut into a curl, twisted onto a skewer, dipped in some batter and deep fried. It's then covered in your flavour of salt - the chicken salt was the best but big ups to the salt & vinegar version.

We spent a lot of our time at the main stage watching bands in the afternoons. This was The National - simply amazing!

Yeah we prefer the view from the front barriers.

I finally managed to see The Rapture live after about 5 years of listening to and obsessing over their music. Every time they have toured Australia I have missed out for some crazy reason (being OS, playing on the same night as someone else - you get it). It was worth the wait - so much fun and energy and I get to see them again on Saturday night - JOY!

Day 2 was a lot warmer - we relaxed for most of the morning and then went and found our favourite roast roll stand - we had on our minds that all we wanted was a "Chippy dog" so we bought buckets of chips with gravy and bread rolls from the lovely ladies and made them ourselves. Delicious!

I was surrounded by sweaty boys with no tops on (eww) while Public Enemy tore up the stage - it was worth it.

INTERPOL!!!! INTERPOL!!!! *swoon* Yeah I'm pretty sure there is not too many bands I love as much as I love Interpol. They were the last band I saw last year and that was the best way I could imagine finishing off the year.

Peaches counted in our New Years dressed in one of the most outrageous outfits I have ever seen.

And Klaxons started my New Year in dance party heaven.

Bands I saw:

Day 1 -

Daara J Family

Cold War Kids

The Soft Pack

The National

The Rapture

The Living End

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Day 2 -

Boy And Bear

Big Scary

Junip

Dan Sultan

Hot Hot Heat

Angus & Julia Stone

Public Enemy

Paul Kelly

Interpol

Klaxons

Peaches (DJ)

It was a dirty, tiring, amazing way to bring in the New Year. I love doing something different - being away from home for New Years is a fun experience. Being in the country with no phone reception is a nice way to have fun while being completely disconnected from the rest of the world. It's refreshing - there was no drama, no let downs, just fun.

How was your New Years?

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

HAPPY 2011

2011-01-01T23:02:00.001+11:00

How did you spend your New Years?

This is how I celebrated mine:

INTERPOL!!!!!

I'm home from the Falls Festival in Marion Bay, Tasmania where I spent the past 3 days in the sunshine dancing to some of my favourite bands. I'll post more pictures of this adventure in a couple of days once I've had a chance to sift through the photos.

HAPPY 2011!!!

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

Shanalogic.com Happy Shopper

2010-12-14T21:28:00.000+11:00

The lovely Shana from Shanalogic.com is having a happy shopper contest on her facebook page. The deadline was just extended to Monday 20th of December at midnight.

Above is my entry. It has 8 items that I have either purchased for myself or been given at birthdays or Christmas - can you spot them all? It was fun to play around a bit more with my instax camera. I think I'm finally getting the hang of the right kind of lighting for the different settings.

I swear my family must LOVE Shana for her store - it makes buying gifts for me super easy. I have a feeling this year will be no different and come December 25th I will be unwrapping a beautiful item from her shop.

Head over to her facebook page and enter - or just say hi, she really is amazing :)

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

P.S This is in no way a sponsored post - I love seeing what her happy shoppers come up with in these contests and want more people to enter it!

Craft attack: Holly clip

2010-12-05T20:38:00.002+11:00

I did plan on posting photos from the 2 days we spent in Disneyland but I had a bit of a craft attack this week and I thought I'd share the outcome.

For the past few years I've created my own little Christmas decoration to brighten my work uniform during December. It's makes it a little more special to me to make it myself.

This year I got inspiration from etsy and the super crafty people on there and decided to make myself a holly leaf hair clip.

What I used:
- dark green felt (about a 30cm square will do)
- light green felt (about a 30cm square will do too)
- fabric scissors
- green cotton
- white cotton
-sewing needle
- 3 x assorted red buttons
- holly leaf cut out on paper

First I cut out 2 holly leaves out of the 2 different colored greens. I cut a slightly smaller sized holly leaf out of the darker green - this will create a nice contrast.

On the darker green I stitched the leaf vains into the felt with the white cotton.

Once I had the leaf vains stitched into the dark green felt I pinned the dark green onto the lighter green felt and got out the sewing machine. I stitched a single row just inside the edge around the outline of the dark green felt to secure it.

This is what the stitching looked like after the attack of the sewing machine. I guess you could hand stitch this step but it'd take a while to get it done.

Once the stitching is complete sew on the three buttons at the "berry" end. I think it looks better if you can find 3 different styled buttons in different sizes but the same/similar color. Then attach the final product to a clip or headband - I used a large clip to secure it in my hair. I am going to look for a thin headband to secure it to because I think it'll stay in my hair better.

I've been wearing this in my hair every day at work since the beginning of December. It makes me feel more festive.

Glitter sparks & happyness
x x x
Brooke

I wanna read good news

2010-12-04T19:11:00.004+11:00

Last night was my work Christmas party. It was a very successful evening for our little store. This morning I woke up a little worse for wear but my mood was uplifted when I read that Andrew McMahon (yep the same one from Something Corporate & Jacks Mannequin) is headed to Australia for an acoustic tour in February.

The tour dates are as follows:
10 FEB - Brisbane @ The Hi-Fi bar
12 FEB - Sydney @ The Metro
13 FEB - Melbourne @ Prince of Wales
15 FEB - Adelaide @ Fowlers

*Photo from Dear Jack foundations flickr screen. Click on image for more*

Tickets are on sale the 10th of December and I'll be purchasing tickets for every show. It's time for another musical adventure. I spent a lot of my time today at work between clients looking up flights and accommodation options for this trip.

Sometimes I love my job and the simple easy access I have to organize these trips. I spend so much time helping other people book their holidays that I thrive when it comes to my own bookings.

I love love love that Andrew was telling me the truth when I spoke to him at the show in LA. I love love love that this is actually happening.

I'll be missing seeing Foals in Melbourne in their side show for Laneway Festival. I am a little sad about this but I know where my priorities are and I know what I'd prefer to miss. I get to see them at Laneway festival so at least I'm not missing them completely. This means I'll have 2 x tickets for sale - face value only. Hit me up if you want to buy them from me.

I'm so excited for February now!!!

Glitter sparks & excited Happyness
x x x
Brooke

Christmas Wishlist 2010

2010-12-02T18:57:00.001+11:00

That's right, it's that time of year again.

I've spent the past few days looking over things on the internet that I'd love to recieve this Christmas - my sister asked me what I wanted so hopefully this can help her decide what to get me :)

Christmas Wishlist by baaarooke featuring a mod dress

I want:

Magical Unicorn Necklace from Shanalogic.com
a pretty black lacy dress
cute slip on shoes with mega bow (I heart these Irregular Choice shoes)
floral vintage style handbag
<3 heart ring from Shanalogic.com
15" Macbook Pro
Black glitter Toms slip on shoes

And to show you my nerd side I would also love:

Nerd Christmas Wishlist by baaarooke featuring scarves

Friday Night Lights Dillon Panthers State Champs t-shirt
The Office Season 6 dvd
A new vinyl / record player
Troy & Abed in the morning mug
Gryffindor scarf

That pretty much covers my Christmas wish list for this year. I've also seen a bunch of stuff on etsy that I love but I accidently bought the one thing I've been looking at over and over agian (even though it's a bit impractical with Summer starting).

Since I already bought myself the best early Christmas present ever (going to the USA to see Something Corporate) I'm a pretty content person right now - BUT these items would all help push that contentment to 150%

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

Travel Stories: Dear Jack Benefit Show, Nov 18 2010

2010-11-29T23:16:00.000+11:00

I'm back from my So Cal week long adventure. It was over in a flash but it was filled with moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life. One of those moments happened on the evening of the 18th of November in Los Angeles California.

By now you all know the main reason for my quick trip to the USA - the Dear Jack benefit concert. This was to be the first time I'd get to see Something Corporate live after listening to their music for over 6 years.

The day before I flew to the USA I posted on twitter the following message:

"Tomorrow I'm getting on a plane from Melbourne Australia to attend the first Annual @dearjackhq Benefit Concert. I'm excited. V excited!"

I received a few back and forth tweets/direct messages from the @dearjackhq (Official Dear Jack Foundation twitter) asking me if I'd be contactable while I was in the USA - turns out they wanted to make sure I met Andrew McMahon (lead singer from Jack's Mannequin & Something Corporate) at the show.

I spent the day of the show in LA on a city tour then shopping at Sephora before eagerly arriving at the El Ray Theatre on Wilshire Blvd at about 7.15pm.

I always find walking into an unfamiliar venue to be both exciting and daunting – you don’t know where you’re going but there a chance you’ll walk into your new favourite venue. The El Ray Theatre was just that – chandeliers and a plush red curtain covering the stage.

I managed to meet up with Steve from the Dear Jack Foundation (after confusion and a cryptic txt message) and organised to meet him after the show was finished so we could meet up with Andrew.

My heart was already in a flutter as Matt Nathanson took the stage. Under normal circumstances I would have really loved his set as he was engaging, funny and his music was quite charming – or maybe I’m remembering it wrong, I don't think so though. I can remember smiling and laughing and singing along to an acoustic rendition of “Highway to Hell”.

The curtains closed again and the crowd thickened. It got a little squishier but was much more tolerable than the squish factor at gigs at home. Excited nervous energy was the flavour of the day as we waited impatiently for those curtains to pull back again. When they did we were greeted with the glorious sounds of Jack’s Mannequin.

The setlist went a little like this:

The Mixed Tape
Spinning
Lullaby
The Resolution
I’m Ready
Bruised
Holiday From Real
Swim
Dark Blue
MFEO/You Can Breathe

I spent a lot of the time turning to Skye saying “this is my favourite song” because that’s how I feel about most Jack’s Mannequin songs. I think I sang along with a massive grin on my face throughout the set as they went from one song to the next. My heart almost broke in two when the opening chords of “Lullaby” began and again when “MFEO/You Can Breathe” began.

When the curtains closed again it felt like no time had passed. It was about time for the main event – Something Corporate.

I wasn’t really properly prepared for them to open with "Hurricane" but as the curtains opened and the music started my whole world froze. I couldn’t move, I could barely breathe – all I could do was watch and sing. Every note, every beat I felt and lived. It didn’t take long for my brain to snap back into gear and for my heart to slow down a bit. I sang and danced and smiled and almost cried (but I didn’t) as song after song was belted out onstage and through the speakers.

The band looked at home onstage – so happy to be there together after all these years. It was enjoyable to watch and their happiness would have been infectious to anyone not already in a state of overwhelming happiness (like I was).

I think the greatest moment of the evening came about when the band walked off stage before the encore. Usually the crowd will chant either the band’s name or “encore” but this night it was different – they chanted for “Konstantine”. Thankfully Andrew returned to the stage solo and began before the rest of the band joined him to play the song properly. I’ll be honest my eyes teared up and there were parts of the song that I could not sing or I was going to cry – this was by far one of the most amazing gig moments of my life. There is something about that song that drags me in every time and to finally be seeing it live was something I never expected to experience.

Something Corporate disappeared and the rest of Jack’s Mannequin joined Andrew onstage to close the night with "La La Lie" – halfway through the song Something Corporate returned and the two bands shared instruments, microphones and the stage to finish the song in a big fun sing along. The show finished with smiles and happiness which was absolutely perfect.

Setlist went like this:

Hurricane
I Want to Save You
Me and the Moon
Watch the Sky
Fall
Cavanaugh Park
Space
The Astronaut
Punk Rock Princess
I Woke Up in a Car

ENCORE

Konstantine
Jack’s Mannequin - La La Lie ft. Something Corporate

We met up with Steve after the show and he took us upstairs to the “VIP” area where Andrew was hanging out with friends and family. Steve grabbed him and we ended up chatting to him about our holiday and what we had planned for the rest of our trip. He thanked us for making the trip and mentioned how much he loves Australia and how they’re talking about possibly doing an acoustic tour soon (to which I said “please don’t tell me things like that if it’s not going to happen – that’s not fair”).

I’ve been seriously struggling with my words for this blog post. It was such an amazing night of music that I don’t think the words that I have written do it any justice. I usually pride myself on the fact that I can just write about things quickly and without much fuss, but this time I think it meant too much and it’s still so fresh – I can’t find the proper words just yet.

I flew thousands of miles from Melbourne Australia to Los Angeles California to be at this show and it was worth every moment of those 14+ hours on a plane there and 14+ hours on a plane home to be at. I feel so lucky to have been a part of the night and to have finally seen Something Corporate live.

I want to thank Steve from the Dear Jack Foundation for being such an awesome person and looking after me and Skye and for making sure we met Andrew after the show. It was a little piece of unexpected kindness that meant the world to me. You’re the best Steve – I know you must have been super busy on the night and to take the time out to organise that for us was amazing!

Also thanks to Andrew for taking the time to stop hanging out with his family and friends and for having a chat and for being so lovely to us after the show. It’s always a pleasure to see your band(s) live and I’ll continue to travel great distances if I have to to see you again. To quote Eddie from Empire Records – your “music is the glue of the world. It’s what holds it all together.” If you do manage to make it to Australia for the possible acoustic tour you were talking about – I’ll be at every show.

It was the absolute perfect first day in LA - the very next morning we were up early to catch a bus across to Anaheim for 2 days in Disneyland. I'll share pictures (I have tons) and stories next.

Glitter Sparks & Happyness

x x x

Brooke

P.S I know my pics are not the best from this show - you try taking photos when your hands won't stop shaking from excitement.

baaarooke

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