okay, so with the year nearly ending, i’m kind of sussing out the local market for a new journal notebook. i wanna go to an actual store so i can physically touch, see, and feel them before i make a decision because, you know, i take this shit seriously.
there’s this guy i don’t know personally but he’s a friend of a friend and i follow him on instagram. hell, i even heart the hell out of his posts because he’s so creative and artistic and everything else i wish i could be. he’s into art journaling with watercolor as his medium. i was brazen enough to message him one time to ask what notebook he uses and how good he is with his art. he said he uses midori traveler’s notebook and that he’s still pretty much a beginner as far as his art is concerned. he seems like a really nice guy.
so i wanted to check the notebook out at dymocks. i thought they would have it. they didn’t. i guess i’ll just have to stick to leuchtturm1917 then.
it was such a nice day to be in the city, though. as crazy as the weather can be, it’s hard to not love melbourne.
i decided to make a video of that day. a really simple one because to be downright honest with you, editing videos is a pain in the ass. i don’t know how jeff does it for hours on end. there’s only so much i can take before i go, “f%ck it, this will do.” which is exactly what happened on this particular video. suffice it to say my patience doesn’t apply in this field. and it’s awkward looking at myself over and over again and getting turned on by what i see.
lol. not even.
can i just say how much i love this combi stroller? sure, there isn’t much basket space underneath but that minor issue pales in comparison to all the good stuff about it — lightweight, easy foldability while standing upright, a canopy that extends all the way down for full coverage, reclines flat for when baby is sleeping, blah, blah, blah…
told you motherhood makes you boring.
this is one of my favorite buildings in the city. one of the many beautiful old architecture that has withstood the tests of time. it’s very gothic. i like that. oftentimes, jeff would point to a derelict old building and ask me if i’d live in there. with a good facelift and some major renovations, i probably wouldn’t mind. but once the thought of ghosts and spirits sets in, i probably would.
it would be nice to live in the heart of the city, though, as you’re close to all the best food joints if you don’t mind the noise and the people and the walking.
speaking of food, there’s this restaurant in swanston street called your thai. i go there for their hainanese chicken with noodle soup. who would have thought that those two go together perfectly?! i love how the soup is kinda bland but the chicken with a bit of soy sauce gives it more depth and flavor.
i would love to have some right now. i’m hungry.
jeff likes the city mainly because he likes skating there and he has a bigger audience to show his skills off to. right down to the core, that guy’s a performer. he likes entertaining people and is not one to shy away when he’s the center of everyone’s attention.
one time, we were watching this traveling circus show and he got picked to go onstage with this other dude. some random audience participation. anyway, it was like a magic trick or something and before the magic was unveiled, he was asked to dance first. boy, did he do a number, alright! i was there in my seat cowering, “oh my god, jeff.” not because i was ashamed for him, but because i was shy for the both of us. rest assured he gave everyone in there a good show. that was his 15 seconds of fame, pretty much.
as for raven, she enjoyed walking around the busy streets; waving bye-bye to people and the trams. she loved her freedom, at the expense of my hypervigilance. good thing el2 and her friend, lina, were there too. that gave her the opportunity to stroll a bit more instead of sitting in her stroller as what normally happens when it’s just her and me.
i mean, as much as i love my kid, my arm muscles are not that strong to carry her, my bag, and all the other baby essentials that you pack and bring with you, just in case. that’s what rich folks hire nannies for.
unfortunately for me, i am the nanny.
*raven at 1 year & 6 months old
the pauses between 
This does look like such a relaxing stroll through the city. I always pass by Your Thai every other weekend but have never eaten there before. The food looks good, especially the fried rice lol. Haha, Jeff looks totally at home in the phone booth. He must have got a few stares 😀 Hopefully the weather gets warmer soon and you can have another happy family outing like this one 🙂
last time i checked the weather forecast, it looks like we’re getting a bit of cold and rain for the next couple of days. it’s 6:10am right now and i’m freezing as we speak. lol.
i reckon ‘your thai resto’ used to be another vietnamese resto so i wonder if they just rebranded the place. i don’t know why. i feel like i’ve eaten there before when it wasn’t ‘your thai’ yet but i can’t be too sure.
how did you spend last sunday? everyone was probably at st. kilda. except me. lol.
Now it looks like the next few weeks are going to be like winter. And we are so close to summer D:
I also thought the resto rebranded itself. I feel many places are like that these days in the city – go up, come down, new face.
I’ve been spending my weekends just lazing around at home lately and window shopping. Too tired to do much 😀
and here i was ready to welcome the warm sunny days when bam! woke up this morning feeling the cold right to my bones!
window shopping is always nice. the online version of it is nice too ‘coz you don’t actually have to get out of the house. lol.
She’s a cutie!
as a biased mom, i think so too. lol. thanks, addison! 🙂
It’s something I should start doing at least once in a while during my days off, instead of just sitting at my dorm. I really just don’t like staying out, unless I’m at some falls, or tourist spots. Home person thing.
I know exactly what you mean, as I’m very much a homebody myself. As much as i have to drag my ass to go outside when I’d rather stay at home, sometimes i actually end up being thankful that i got to go out coz i got to see or experience some fun stuff. A change of scenery is good too. Keeps you from getting bored, or boring. Aaanndd… good blog material as well. Lol. That’s how my husband usually baits me. It works most of the time. Haha
Yup .. it’s way better. In my case, I go out mostly at night, as I only go when someone invites me for some foods, like I’m a night person. Guess I’ll try go out more often this time at daytime.
Good thing you got your husband to drag you out, and who he’s pretty active. Hehe
it’s both a good thing and a bad thing. hahaha. but yeah, i reckon it also helps to have somebody who’s kind of your opposite. gives you the opportunity to explore other activities you normally wouldn’t even think about.
Yup. In my case, I had once told myself I need an extrovert cause being the opposite is quite boring at times. 😁
it’s good to have some bits of deviation in your partner as well but being and living with one who’s totally my opposite, i can honestly say that it does have its own challenges.
don’t say i didn’t warn you. lol.
Yeah it sure does. But in my case, once I get comfortable with people, then I’ve no problem being around them, It’ll only always be hard at first. 🙂
it’s always like that, isn’t it? it usually takes a bit of warming up before i’m comfortable sharing my thoughts with others. with some people, it doesn’t take too long for me to relax around them. but i’m afraid there would just be certain types of people i would always put my guard up with because there’s just something about them that makes me uncomfortable. sort of like a general instinct on my part. do you get that as well?
Oh I can relate to that very much. There are some people whom I just can’t get comfortable with at first meeting or even after a couple unless they actually initiate and make me feel they’re harmless. I mean they’re not the kind who judges easily. Sometimes as well, my energy just won’t cooperate with me that no matter how I want to be really open at times, like chatty, I just can’t be, so it’s really hard at times to be around people who are totally opposite my personality.