Wedding bells

A couple of weeks ago, we went to my cousin Lia's wedding - a very beautiful affair, with kind of an 'old Hollywood' feel to it. Maria and I spend all morning beautifying ourselves for the big event - hair done, nails done, make-up applied, ongoing fights with Jack to get ready...the usual. In the end, i had to promise him that Batman would be attending the party also, and wouldn't it be a shame if he missed out seeing him there? Lies of course. Didn't feel bad about it or anything.

Lia and her now husband Charles were getting married in St Mary's Cathedral, very grand, and perfect for a dramatic entrance as you can see.

Now, her pageboy was Max. I call this segment "When good idea's go bad." Max is not quite two, and its possible he found the whole experience overwhelming and stressful - i don't really know, and he couldn't really say. The simple fact was that when it came time for him to walk down the aisle - he said no. No thanks! Not interested. You have fun though. Still, it seemed a shame to waste the adorable tux, and his mother WAS Matron of Honour, so hell, let her drag him in. Which is fine, except it's a pretty long aisle. Plenty of time for a not-quite-two-year-old to go from sort of upset to totally inconsolable. The situation was made worse by the photographer sticking a camera with a massive flash in his face. That really brought out the screams. I'll applaud Susie though. Her face turned the agony into comedy. It said "I know. I'm sorry. I'm not happy about it either. But let's all just try to move forward."

The rest of the ceremony went without a hitch, and Maria and I actually got teary when Lia walked in, totally awesome veil and all, even though i NEVER cry at weddings and don't think I'll cry at my own. Max continued to give me the giggles - he was not ashamed to let out a miserable wail every few minutes, and at one point actually attempted to join his mother on the alter. I make fun of this now, but Jack is three times as stubborn, so I'm pretty sure I'll get my own back.

Here's Max, post-trauma:

And here's me and the pest -

Aaaaand here's me and Jo outside the church. (PS, i love my dress. Love. It. Just sayin.)

Then it was onto the reception, which was at the same place Jo and I are having our reception at, cause it's owned by Italians and therefore all Italians want to get married there. The downstairs area had been set up as both a dance floor and a chill out section in the back, where people could mingle. Upstairs was where all the tables were set up. They did this really cool thing which i loved, but forgot to take a picture of - a sort of photo wall, where they displayed a wedding photo of every single person on both hers and his side of the family who had ever been married - grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone. It was very sweet, and kind of funny to see the old photos - like my parents. Dad with chiseled cheek bones, mum with long brown curls...the years have not been kind. (totally kidding guys.) (or am i?)

Here's the new Mr and Mrs (see what i mean? Definitely channeling that old Hollywood glamour.)

Me and my awesome dress. I mean David. Me and David. (And Frank's fat head in between us).

Mum and Jo (you'll note the boozing has already begun here. This will continue until we leave the reception at midnight. By then, Jo will have fallen off a stool in the "chill out" section, attempted to start a conga line with my equally boozed up brother, and have acquired the hiccups, which will not go away for at least 30 minutes.)

Me and Zara, who is actually known as Cheeks (cause hello?), and who on this particular evening chose to don her Dolce and Gabbana from Paris. Don't blame her, it was divine.

Lia, looking gorge -

Bridal table -

Maria, me and Susie -

(A word on Susie - she was approximately 15 years older than every other person on the bridal party, including her partner. As you would expect, this earned her the name Cougar, which my mother had no shame in calling out to her as she walked back up the aisle with him at church. Over the course of the evening, Cougar was adapted to the more suitable 'Susie Cougs'. And that, folks, is one that's gonna stick. *sniggers*)

All the girls -

Honestly, it feels like just yesterday that she got engaged - and now its all over! That time flew by. It's a cliche, but its true. I'm sure we'll feel the same way. And actually, going to someone else's wedding made me feel more excited about my own. I haven't been to one in ages, so i kind of forgot what all the buzz is like, everyone excited and emotional and all that. When it rains it pours though - next year, we have three other weddings, as well as our own. GAH!

Pop culture

Movies and books and music, oh my. Let's get right into it.




So, two movies this week. We saw The Town, with Ben Affleck, on Tuesday (cause hello, cheap Tuesdays and all). I thought it was great! I mean not exactly an original concept or anything, but really enjoyable, and well directed by the Benster. It's basically a movie about bank robbers - four of them actually, a group of friends who've been in the robbery business for years. During their latest robbery of a bank, they take the female manager hostage, and although they leave her unharmed, is sets off a chain of events that ultimately leads to their downfall. Definitely recommended.




Last night, some friends and I went to see the latest Harry Potter movie. Y'all know i love Harry Potter. Must have read the books a thousand times, totally in love with Ron Weasley. So it kind of feels like revisiting old friends. Obviously, i loved the movie, as did my friends, but if you're not into Harry, a) there's something wrong with you, and b) don't see the movie. If you ARE into Harry, i have no doubt you'll love it too. It's the best one yet, and sticks to the events in the book like glue. I'm already trying to convince people to come see it with me again. GAH. LOVE. Honestly, i laughed, i cried, i cheered...(yeah. don't judge me. we all have our thing.) Anyway, at least I'm not like those fans who actually dress up as one of the characters when they go see the movie. Cause. They're out there folks. (Turnsie did try to convince me to bring a wand made out of a chopstick. I politely declined.)





Book-wise, there's been hits and misses. I've read so much that I'm going to filter it down to the best ones, although there's one meh book i want to mention - The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake. So many people raved about this book, and it was on all the bestseller lists...so naturally, i picked it up with great anticipation but it was just so MEH! I mean i was bored, if I'm going to be honest. Plus, i didn't like any of the characters enough to really invest in them. Set during WWII, it's told from the perspective of different females involved in the story. Some live in a small town in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who are to some degree in denial about the war and America's potential involvement, and one in London, a radio broadcaster determined to give a voice to those living through it all in Europe. My other gripe is that i felt like the writer was trying too hard to write this poignant, moving war story, and that put me off. Others may enjoy this one, but I've read some excellent books set in this time period and this just didn't live up to my expectations at all.





On the flip side, there are three stand outs from the last few weeks. The first is a book of essays by the wonderful Joan Didion called Slouching Towards Bethlehem. It's a collection from the 60s, and mainly centres around her experiences in California during that time. Essay anthologies can always be hit and miss - but if they're a hit, i really enjoy them. I loved how this collection really felt like it came from a specific time and place, yet still felt relevant in some it's themes. And the writing itself, typical of Didion, is just good, solid writing. She tells it like it is, flaws and all, and she doesn't dress up her words. Things are what they are. Its hard to make one piece of writing both an essay and a personal memoir, but she always does it so easily. This probably isn't for everyone, but i really enjoyed it.





Next up is a book called The City and The City, by China Mieville. Holy crap, i have been RAVING about this book to everyone i know, and begging them to read it. I absolutely loved it, for it's originality and quirkiness and for the way he makes something so fantastical so absolutely real. I actually do not even know how to tell you what this book is about without making it sound totally bizarre, which it is, but in such a good way. It's set somewhere unnamed in Europe, and the premise is this - two cities coexist in the same physical location. The citizens of each city are required by law, custom and history to see and exist only in their own city, and not in the other, despite the fact that both cities, as i mentioned, exist in the exact same physical location. If a citizen of one city DOES "see" or interact with a citizen from the other city, whether by accident or not, they are in Breach, and that's bad news. When a young woman is found murdered in one of the cities, the Detective on the case becomes embroiled in something bigger that crosses borders and boundaries. The thing about this book is that it all sounds a bit out there, but the details are so well-realised that i really believed every word. I was so sucked into this one, and i just thought it was so original, so stop reading this and go read that instead. 100 out of 100 stars.





Last but not least is a non-fiction book called Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer. Foer is a great author of fiction books also, but I'm sure he would consider this book his most important work. As the title suggests, it's about food - in particular, eating animals. As I've gotten older, I've become more picky about the kind of meat i eat, not just because i believe if we're going to eat animals, we should be respectful of the fact they were a living thing before they ended up on our plates, but also because what goes into those animals also ends up in our bodies - ergo, the healthier the animal, the better it is for us. Foer himself is a vegetarian, but he doesn't kid himself (and i don't kid myself) that most people want to stop eating meat. And converting you to vegetarianism is not the point of this book - if it were, i wouldn't have read it. The whole thing is about eating meat responsibly - understanding where the animals we are eating came from, how they were killed, and most importantly how they were treated before that. A large portion of the book focuses on factory farming - so there are some pretty confronting issues discussed. But he gives you every perspective he can, and in the end, it's up to you.




If you don't know what factory farming is, this is his description - "it is a system of industrialised and intensive agriculture in which animals - often housed by the tens or hundreds of thousands - are genetically engineered, restricted in mobility, and fed unnatural diets (which almost always include drugs...)". Around 50 billion land animals are factory farmed every year around the world, and in America, 99% of all land animals eaten, or used for things like milk and eggs, come from factory farms. Personally, i'm very passionate about this particular issue - but I've found that people can get funny about it. They don't want to feel like they're doing something wrong by eating meat, and i totally get that. I just think that it's something that deserves more awareness, and perhaps we as consumers need to be more responsible about what we're buying and eating, where we can afford to be. Anyway, I'll stop ranting at you now, but if you've ever picked up a free range chicken, you've done it because you know its better for both the chicken and for you - which means i think you'll really like this book.





Two other small things - firstly, i am loving the Glee Christmas album, even though it makes Jo want to kill himself. I love Christmas, and I'm totally putting up the tree this week if i have time. And that means, those carols will be pumping. Secondly, how awesome is the new season of the Rachel Zoe Project people??? I know you all agree.




I'm off - gotta get an early night. Tomorrow I'm helping Maria make mini pies and quiches to freeze for the kitchen tea next week (*wants to cry*). But i will do it with a smile. (as if. i'll be whinging the whole day.)

Good vibrations

So. A word about last weeks weather - it was awesome. Made me wanna run through the streets screaming I Love You Sydney! I Love You Summer! I mean, i didn't. But i WANTED TO.




To show out appreciation to the Weather Gods, we took ourselves, and the pest, to Balmoral beach. It really was the perfect day for it, and the best thing about Balmoral is that it's in a bit of a cove, which means the water is always warmer than you otherwise get. Because I'm one of those people that takes about 45 minutes to get in. I've gotten better as I've gotten older, but still. I'm not one of these dive-right-in types. No, I'm your splash-myself-delicately-to-get-used-to-the-temperature gal. Don't judge.




Jack and I braved the waters and had a marvellous time, but some chickens i won't name (Maria and Jo) didn't want to go in because despite the 30 degree heat, it was "too cold". Whatevs - you missed out kids. Being a kiwi, Jo doesn't much get my love for the beach. Maybe it's an Aussie thing, i don't know, but i literally crave it when summer starts to hit. The sand irritates him, for a start, and I'm not allowed back in the car before I've cleansed myself of any stray particle that might remain. The heat, well he can't stand that. I mean he can stand it, but he doesn't love it like i do. I say, bring on the humidity. He says, turn the air conditioning on. *shrugs* maybe I'm the weird one.




So, here's the pest. You have to admit, he has his charms. Even I gave a big ol' 'awwwww' when i saw this one.







Aaaaaand here's Balmoral in all its blue-skied glory...

After a swim, the best thing you can do is lie yourself down in the sun (sunscreen-protected, of course. I'm big on that, 'specially in this country) for a warm up....

Maria, me, pest

Uhuh. We sure do live in a beautiful city, country, planet.

To round off our productive day, Jo took the opportunity to teach Jack a few of life's necessities:

1. How to fart on people

2. How to give the finger.

Yep. That's why we don't have kids.

Happy happy joy joy (its the humidity)

This whole week has been HOT. Not just hot hot either, but humid hot. And SUNNY. And STORMY. It's such typical Sydney summer weather and I'm in heaven. There's that sort of sweet-grass smell in the air, and Christmas decorations are going up, and there are mozzies everywhere and our doors are constantly open so the breeze comes in and it all points to summer and lo, a happy Nell is born.

So i haven't blogged in ages and my excuses are, busyness and laziness. It's just been one of those weeks. Last weekend was all about the wedding (not mine, and it's a whole other post away) and the crabs. Real crabs, not crab crabs, if you get me. We had some family here from interstate for previously mentioned wedding, and since the sun came out to play, we decided a seafood Sunday lunch was in order.

My cousin Ben makes the best crab-in-red-sauce ever, and so I spent the day happily nom-nom-noming, much to Jo's disgust. I believe he referred to me as "an animal", as he watched me ripping them apart and sucking them dry. But. That's how you eat crab. I mean I'm not going to use a fork for godsake. What's the point of that? But he's not much into shellfish so he doesn't get the love, and as Ben says, there's no point trying to convert them. Once you do, you'll just have to share.

The kids were a laugh as always -

Zara the chubster. (Don't worry Z, it's cute right now.
I mean. Hopefully you'll totally grow out of it though.)

"I'm sorry, what? You don't like THIS dress??"

Row row row you're boat, or something similar.

The Raffster playing a childhood staple, backyard cricket.

Christian. I'm pretty sure he's saying "I'm three, dumbass."

On Monday, we babysat Barney. Barney is not a child, as you may remember. He's a dog. But David doesn't like leaving him alone, cause he's precious like that, so we took him on Monday night. I was assured he would go to the door if he needed to go to the toilet, but a couple of poos and several wees later, i realised that wasn't going to happen. And that crap stank. Thank God we have tiles.

Barney

We tuckered him out in the end.

Other highlights from this week included our marriage class, the first of THREE we have to take in order to get married in a Catholic church. Although we were dreading it, Jo was a good sport about the whole thing (being the non-Catholic one), and kept us laughing for the three hours we were there. Yes, you read that correctly. Three hours. Times three classes. That's nine hours of our lives we won't be getting back. Still, if you have to be there you may as well make the best of it, and it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. It's all very new age - what "couple style" are you (wtf?), and why men and women communicate differently (i mean really. duh.), and what sorts of feelings do you feel when you have a fight....and that's just week one. In week three we get to tackle fertility. I mean please. How can i contain my excitement until then?

It was boiling today. Downright boiling. Mum and I went shopping. Her search for an outfit to wear to the wedding continues (hint: try being less fussy.) We checked out the new Westfields in the city (very swish) before heading down to circular quay for a well-earned ice cream.

Trees in bloom

Mum!

This afternoon was so warm we had our first visit to the beach for the season. It was too late for a swim, but...maybe tomorrow! If it stays this warm. I think we're going to have a very typical Sydney summer this year - almost tropical, you know? Sunny and humid until about 4pm, when the clouds will roll in and then it'll be overcast and humid for the rest of the day, till it pours with rain. Gets a thumbs up from me.

The season is in full swing, and as always it seems that this time of year is ridiculously busy. Melbourne Cup has been and gone, which is the start of it all for me (even though this year I MISSED IT because i was sick), and now its all beach and kitchen tea, mum's birthday, my birthday, Christmas parties galore, and then it's Christmas and New Years and before you know it it's January and I'm moaning about the year flying by and frankly I'm tired just thinking about it all, so I'm off to watch Graham Norton.

Stuff i watch. (Seriously. That's all this blog post is about.)

Right. So Jo and I have decided that since we pay good money for foxtel, we're damn well going to watch it. This may or may not mean we've spent an (un)healthy amount of time vegetating on the couch lately. I'll never tell.




We've made good use of our IQ button. We've gone ahead and taped about a billion movies and series linked many a bad reality TV show, and my ice-cream and jatz intake has tripled and I've turned into a fat lard, and now i really do feel like I'm getting what i paid for, and it is good.




What are the highlights, you ask? Let's review:



Movies

Changeling. You know, the one where Angelina Jolie plays a single mother back in the 20s who's kid gets kidnapped. Joy of joys, they find said kid, only it is not, in fact, said kid. See folks, police back then were totally corrupt. To return to the publics good graces, they go ahead and return any old kid back to Ang, hoping she simply won't notice. Good thinking guys. Angelina spends the next 90 minutes either in or on the verge of tears, desperately pleading for the police to please believe that this is "NOT MY SON!" Since she won't let up, they decide to chuck her in a mental institution, as you do. I won't spoil the ending for you, and jokes aside, i thought old Ang played the role very well. I'll give it a B.




Precious. Hands down the most depressing movie ever made. Ever, for reals. There's not even a particularly happy ending. It's just ALL BAD. First of all, she has an abusive mother. This woman's a real kick. Emotional torture is the nicest way to put it, and lets throw some violence in for good measure. Second of all, her father's been raping her since she was three. What a guy. She goes ahead and has his baby, who's born with down syndrome. Before walking out on them, Daddy impregnates her again, which means she has to drop out of school. But Precious wants to learn. A former teacher enrols her in a community college course, and for the first time, she's learning to read and write, even making friends. Then Mommy finds out. Says Precious better go ahead and give that up right about yesterday, and start lining up for welfare instead. Cause Lord knows Mommy could use the money. Baby number two is born, Precious is forced to move out and live in halfway house and guess what? Turns out Daddy had AIDS. And so does Precious. And if that ain't enough, the poor girl is utterly obese. This movie really disturbed me, and that doesn't happen much. Watch it to remember why your life isn't really that bad. B-



My Life in Ruins. TERRIBLE. It's got that actress from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which was Oscar-worthy compared to this crap. She plays a tour guide working in Greece who, through her group of misfit tourists, learns all about life and love and BLAH BLAH BALH. C-, and the only thing that saved it from a D was the Greek scenery.



The Taking of Pelham 123. Now this got panned when it came out, but i rather enjoyed it. I think it's because i love Denzel Washington. No really. I love him, even if he is fat in this film. A train gets hijacked in NYC, and Denzel's the unlucky guy on duty at the Rail Control Centre who ends up talking to the main bad dude, played by John Travolta who frankly, has seen better days. Anyway, Denzel's the only guy John wants to deal with after that, and from there, well, it's the usual action-y type stuff. People get shot, secrets come out, ransom is paid, train nearly derails...yadda yadda yadda and they live happily ever after. I liked it. A solid B.



The Hangover. We've seen it of course, but who can resist second and third viewings. It's movie magic. Naked chinese ninjas, tigers in the bathroom, vegas hooker weddings and a monologue about wolf packs. What more, i ask, could you want? My favourite line? "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Except Herpes. That shit'll come back with you." Amen. A+



TV

America's Next Top Model, Season I've Lost Count. I love these gals. The bitchiness does not fail to amuse me, and nor do the meltdowns and the tears and the fights and i especially love it when they have a makeover and have to chop all their hair off, suckers. That's whatcha get if you wanna be a model. Also, can Tyra Banks love herself any more if she tried? I really hope that one day she marries herself and lives happily ever after. The narcissism alone is worth watching for. A!!




Glee. My love for you will never die. When you have long breaks because of stupid things like the Commonwealth Games, (which by the way, nobody gives a rats about because a) of course Australia's going to win everything when our competition is England and New Zealand and b) the Commonwealth is practically dead), I want to cry. I need you, Glee, because you make bad songs like Jump popular again. Plus, you make musical theatre cool, which means there's still hope that I, too, can be cool. My dying wish is that you get Julie Andrews on. Then my life will be complete. Triple A+, and if you don't agree, you obviously need to apply for a new brain.




Relocation Relocation. Look, i like the Lifestyle channel. It doesn't make me a dork, so don't say it does. Even Jo watches this show with me, because hello, who can resist the cuteness that is Phil Spencer and Kirsty Allsop. It's all so British, and the scenery is always nice, and i like to see idiot couples make fools of themselves and faff about instead of making a decision. Faff is a English word, BTW, taught to me by this lady whose blog also gets an A+. She's pretty funny when she's not wasting time at work or being a total smartass. Oh wait, that's always. *sniggers* OK, so a definite A for Relocation Relocation. Moving on to....



Ace of Cakes. You guys, i don't even know why we watch this. It's about a bunch of people who work in a cake shop in Baltimore. BUT ITS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT! Firstly, they make really cool cakes - not boring ones. Everything they make is totally original, as per the client's orders, which sometimes makes for some random shit. Secondly, the guy that runs the place is called Duff. And that's just plain funny. Thirdly, now that they've gotten more famous, they do cakes for lots of movie premieres and stuff - like, they made Hogwarts Castle for the Harry Potter premiere. I mean. That's just awesome. Right? RIGHT? B +.



The Real Housewives of NYC. OMG. These ladies are rich, and have awesome fights. That's all you need to know. Trash TV at it's guilty best and i am totally addicted. A for the excess.



So, I'm off to watch more TV, and y'all can thank me later for the suggestions.