Book club: The Time Traveler's Wife

This month for book club we read "The Time Travelers Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger and I have to admit I was never very keen to read this book. I guess that is one of the beauties of book club you have to read books that you otherwise wouldn't, plus you get yummy food and cups of tea.

As I am sure you know the book follows the relationship of Claire and Henry, Henry who just happens to be a time traveler. Personally I found the book quite confusing even till the end I was still having to reread paragraphs to make sure I was keeping up. The book had a constant pace right until the last 100 pages or so where I felt lots of things suddenly happened. 

What I did like about the book was the way Niffenegger established the relationship between Claire and Henry, you felt as though you really got to know the ins and outs of their relationship, the good as well as the bad. The book is essentially a love story and this theme is communicated well to the reader.

Ultimately, the thing that turned me off this book was the message that your future is a set path and you are unable to change what happens. I am not sure if other people found this about the book but I would love to hear your thoughts?

This month were reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak which I am really excited about. Does anyone have any recommendations for books I could suggest for next month?

NERD

I  <3 my new glasses!

Collect

I have always loved collecting unique jewelery but lately I have been keeping an eye out for vintage costume jewelery. My collection started when my grandfather gave me some of my nan's old jewelery which have become one of my most treasured possessions. 

My collection has now extended to finding pieces at op shops and estate sales. The thing I love about collecting vintage jewelery is that each piece has a story behind it, even though I may not know the story it is always there.

Do you collect something? I would love to hear about it.

In My Bag

1. Kiki K Diary 2. Earphones 3. Work Keys 4. Chanel Sunglasses 5. Mimco wallet 6. Postcards, airmail stamps and Typo Pen 7. Handbag Hook 8. Keys

9. Chanel reading glasses 10. Ipod 11. Assorted Lipgloss, perfume and handcream 12. Book 13. Mints 14. Hairband 15. Bus pass holder 16. Cards

Gracie tagged me awhile ago to show "Whats in my bag?" and I finally got around to it. It was good, I definitely needed to give it a clean out. Nothing to exciting in there but it was a fun little post, thanks Gracie.

A little mail post

Life has been busy, busy, busy but I really cannot complain as I feel I am more productive when I am busy. I have been working full time for the past two weeks while the other clerk went on holidays. I have to admit I didn't really like not getting to leave at 12pm like I usually do but I suppose it is something that I will have to get use to one day. My mum came down for the weekend which was so nice, I love having her here. We went shopping, walked around the lake, went to an estate sale and ate lots of yummy food. Yesterday I went to Sydney to audition for "Millionaire Hot seat" (an Australian game show). It was pretty fun and a great experience, we had to sit a multiple choice test and then do an on camera interview. Our names then get put into a database and one day we might get lucky and be on the show, fingers crossed. So that is a little update on my life and the following is an update on my mailbox :-)

Incoming

From the lovely Mary Grace.

 A first letter from Michelle in Sydney.

A first letter from Carly.

A letter and little package from Ingrid, I love the stickers she included and my first friendship book.

A cute card from Erin.

A postcard from Ria that was sent quite a while ago but just received. Also Ria there is a letter on its way to you, I posted it before taking a photo.

From the gorgeous Jennifer who has such lovely handwriting.

Outgoing

To Tez and Miss Tillie.

Postcards to Rebecca and my nan.

A very overdue letter to Micaela.

To Patty, envelope recycled from Lauren's etsy store.

Don't forget to check out the "Penpal Mailing List" if you are looking for a new penpal or would like to be added to the list.
Some other cool things I have spotted on the net -
Stationery Swap
Stationery Giveaway
Online Sewing Lessons

A walk around the lake

Whilst working fulltime for the last two weeks (still not agreeing with me) I have been walking around Lake Burley Griffen in my lunch breaks. I love going for walks around there because it reminds me how beautiful Canberra is. Canberra get shunned by alot by other cities as being "boring" but I just dont think those people are looking property. If your ever going to visit I pledge to be your personal tour guide. I think you will find my rates are quite affordable.

Here are some snaps from my walk today.

Penpal mailing list up and running!

Just a quick note to let you know the "Penpal Mailing List" is up and running!
Go here to check it out. There is also a link at the top of my right sidebar.

In other news Brendan and I might be going to Cairns this year to celebrate our birthdays and my graduation, I really hope so, I have my fingers crossed! Wouldn't this be lovely for a week? I have never been to the Barrier Reef or the Daintree Rainforest so this would be an amazing trip.

~Incomings and going ons ~

No outgoing this week, I have been working full time lately which is definitely a shock to the system and have filled any spare time catching up on sleep. I have also been getting my thesis application ready to be approved by the ethics board, so fingers crossed.

Incoming

A lovely package from Tez for the new friend swap, the lip gloss is so lovely and I adore the little keyring.

A lovely letter from Caiti

A gorgeous Pride and Prejudice style letter from Belen, this letter made my day.

A lovely postcard from Rebecca, I have already picked one to send back.

Card from Tez, letter from Tilly, letter & card from Sophie and finally a letter from Ria.

I have been splurging a little bit lately and these are some of my more recent purchases.

I LOVE my new clogs from Sportsgirl. I was hesitant in buying them but after wearing them last night and not having sore feet at all they get the big thumbs up.

I bought some Postcards from Lauren's etsy store and look how nicely they were packaged.

Plus I am absolutely loving Typo's French themed stationery, resisting buying everything.

Today I did three loads of washing and much to my dismay no laundromat in Canberra was open to get them dried, my house now has clothes hanging from every possible space, damn winter.

Blogging around the world: USA Part 2

Image

Gala Darling - I have obviously been living under one big rock to only just have discovered this blog. Anyone under the rock with me? Fresh, fun, passionate and honest Gala Darling has fastly became one of my everyday reads. I especially love the "Surprise me" button that transports you to a random page on the blog, I just found myself at this little gem.

Hang on little tomato - Carolyn's personal blog is always full of adventure, less than a month ago she made the big move to NYC (jealous much?) and I have really enjoyed reading about her new life there and getting settled. I also enjoy her vegan posts, even though I am not a vegan not even a vegetarian, it is something I find interesting. She also put me on the trail of the aforementioned blog.

Kendi Everyday - another new blog I have started following, seriously I need to stop finding amazing new blogs, as I spend all my time reading through their archives. Does anyone else do that? Hope I am not the only crazy stalker out there (i joke, kinda, no really). Kendi is funny and has really wonderful, affordable fashion sense. She has just started the 30 for 30 challenge, 30 pieces of clothing, 30 outfits, fun!

My name is Yeh - I love food and whenever I finish reading Molly's posts i am usually suffering from major food envy! Molly is mainly a food blogger and she does it with honesty and humour. One of my favourite posts was her 1st April review (wink,wink). Molly is also a talented musician and lives in NYC.

Triumphs and blunders of a kooky girl - Chelsea is fun, enrgetic and happy and her posts leave me feeling that way too. Some things you may feel like doing after reading her blog include eating popsicles, dancing just for fun, cooking a delicious treat, taking fun photos with friends or buying something from her newly opened etsy store.

Sweet Fancy - this is another blog I have been following for ages. Not only is Fallon a lovely person but is seriously talented and has an eye for style. I can only imagine how incredible her house must be with all the wonderful thrifting she does and the creative ideas she comes up with. Fallon's blog is one I turn to whenever I need home style inspiration. She also has two etsy stores Olive and My Vintage Backyard.

The Perfect Compilation Tape - Meghan is awesome and not just because we kinda share the same name but also because she has a fun blog and is a sweet person (and lots of other reasons too). Her blog is filled with cupcakes, coffee, tales of life in Chicago and my personal favourite 'Top 5' posts. She has also recently been on a European adventure and I am excited to get to have a sticky at ther photos.

I hope you find something new and enjoyable to read!

Looking for a penpal?

Sometimes it can be hard to find new pen pals, especially when you first start writing letters, so I have decided to start a "Penpal Mailing List". This is how the list will work.....

1. Send me an email with your name, age, location, email address, blog link, and an approximate 200 word profile about yourself. My email is timeaftertea (at) gmail (dot) com
2. This profile will be added to the Penpal Mailing List
3. The list will be available as a link in the sidebar of my blog
3. People will be able to check out the list and find people they are interested in writing to. They can then email the person and see if they are interested in snail mailing with them.
4. The list will be (hopefully) updated fortnightly so you can be taken off the list when you like and new people can be added.
5. The list will hopefully result in lots of happy and full mailboxes.

I am happy to take any suggestions on how you think the list could be improved as I have only just formulated the idea. Oh and feel free to spread the word, I will hopefully come up with a blog button over the next week.

Mail outgoings

No incoming this week as I have been away from my mailbox for 2 weeks but it has given me time to catch up on my mail replies....

A first letter to Michelle in Sydney.

I got this envelope from the Commonwealth bank and decided to reuse it as I love see through envelopes.

This is the package I sent to Tez for Tilly's Favourite things swap. This was such a fun swap and I am so lucky to have got partnered with Tez and made a new friend. Tez package to me is safely awaiting my return to Canberra, so excited.

I am hoping to go home to a lovely stuffed mailbox, fingers crossed.
A lot of my envelopes this week were made from Frankie magazines. I know lots of people collect their Frankie magazines but personally I like to gorge myself on Frankie and then use it to cut and paste. Hoping the Frankie Gods don't send a lightening bolt down in my direction because the magazines really are pretty enough to keep as books. I am also addicted to stickers at the moment and am resisting the urge to cover everything and anything in them.
I have also copied borrowed the concept of keeping a record of my monthly mail happenings in my side bar, its kinda fun, I like it. Thanks to the Missive Maven who I think came up with the original idea, if I am wrong let me know.

Happy mailing!

I fell in love

I spent this weekend in Sydney staying with my sister, Leah. I have been to Sydney hundreds of times but for some reason this weekend I really fell in love with the city and am even contemplating a move if I can convince Brendan.

FRIDAY// 5 hour train trip; read Frankie, knitted until I accidently snapped a needle, started 'The Girl who kicked the hornet's nest'//had Mexican for lunch//trawled Newtown shops//sat in Gloria Jeans, drinking coffee and writing letters//unexpectedly stumbled on markets in Chinatown, bought cute stationery//had Japanese for dinner// went on the Ferris wheel at Darling Harbour//

SATURDAY//walked down to Glebe market's, bought cute shoes//had lunch with an old uni friend//got an hour long massage//meet with high school friends for dinner//went to Bungalow 8 and danced till the wee hours of the morning//

SUNDAY//Woke up, got out of bed, way to hungover, back to bed//finally got out of bed// ate a hamburger the size of my head, felt much better//went to Darling Harbour to meet a friend for coffee//ate meatballs and spaghetti, lovingly provided by Leah and watched Masterchef//

MONDAY// Shopping!!//spent three hours in Myer at the stock take sale, dressed and undressed far too many times to count// headed to Broadway and shopped some more//fell into a shopping induced coma// went out and had Chinese and Cold Rock//

TUESDAY// headed home :-(

There are so many reasons why I feel in love with Sydney this time round. I had time to myself to explore and wasn't constantly having to fit things in. I love the shopping and the food and the fact that it is 6 degrees warmer than Canberra. I love that there is always something to do or you can just stumble upon fun things happening in the street. I also love that my sister lives there and it would be nice to be able to spend more time with her. Until then though I guess I will just have to keep visiting.  I will share my shopping in an upcoming post, will hopefully convince Brendan to take some outfit shots.