a very enjoyable evening

I was getting myself all stressed this afternoon - the BIG Christmas do was on. I have four possible Christmas parties to attend this year, which is what comes of working several jobs. In the interests of spending a little less, I'm attending three of the four.

Tonight was event number two, and in my mind it had become the preeminent do; the party to beat all parties. Something to do with the effort and hoo hah I knew many were undertaking to beautify themselves for the big night. We're talking fake tans, hairdresser up dos and cute little cocktail dresses. I had the distinct feeling that in comparison to all this, I may well look something of a frump. Now there's a comforting thought. Harrumph.

Around six pm I was engaged in a game of musical clothes. This top with those trousers. (Nope, too tight) Those trousers with that top. (Uh uh, too boring) That top with three quarter jeans. (Hmmm, too casual?) These trousers, that blouse, white shirt, green flowery tee... on and on, until finally I settled for the dress, which was my original plan until the weather had suddenly turned cold.

It set me to reflecting on beauty, confidence, consumerism and contentment. I would like to be someone who could rock up in clothes that were not exactly in fashion, and just not care. (I almost pulled it off, although perhaps I could have claimed more complete success if I had settled for the original outfit of trousers and top that were boring, but quite nice and definitely warm) I wanted to believe what I tell the girls at school - no one looks at you as much as you do, they're all too busy looking at themselves. Unless they're looking at you to pull your appearance to pieces because they are unhappy with themselves, but I don't tell the girls about that. Let them find some self love first, be comfortable in their own skin, then let them down slowly. (I think I managed to convince myself on this one - I was sufficiently happy with how I looked to admire all the pretty dresses and perfect tans - those girls looked gorgeous, believe me!) And I was pleased I hadn't spent lots of money trying to look a certain way (it doesn't matter that much what we look like in the end), and more particularly that the dress I wore was an ethical number. I know who made it, where, the conditions they worked under and that they were paid fairly. (Check out Eternal Creation for more ethical, gorgeous and incredibly high quality items!)

It's a complicated thing, appearances, fashion and feeling comfortable in my own skin. Maybe one day I'll tap into the river of confidence such that I stop worry worrying how I compare to everyone else. In the meantime I looked nice enough and had a good time chatting with lots of lovely people. We're all the same on the inside!

And now I must go and put all the discarded clothes back in the drawers and cupboards from whence they came...

finding a little contentment

So they're burning up in NSW and we are cool and wet in Tasmania. Big country, crazy weather. Who ever heard of heat waves and forty degree temperatures in November? Even thirty degrees in November in Tasmania (which it was on Thursday and Friday) is madness. Funnily enough I haven't heard any of Australia's climate change sceptics claiming the earth isn't warming the last couple of days.

We pretty well stayed indoors and enjoyed the rain today, although at one point I did duck down to the local farmers market to pick up a golden drop of local, first press olive oil. Costs the earth and tastes divine! I haven't been for a while (something to do with it being a fortnightly market - I always seem to forget the fortnight and miss out!), so it was nice to catch up with my favourite stall holders and pick up some yummy local goodness. I drove home feeling all was well with the world, even though it isn't. Nice one.

Here's a song that celebrates some of the good things in life:

Well I can't believe I'm sittin' here today
Picking on my banjo with a big smile on my face
Writin' new words to an old school melody
Hey there ain't no doubt that God's been good to me

Oh the sun is shinin' on down in Launceston
And right now I'm right where I wanna be
I've never felt so loved, so peaceful and so free
Hey there ain't no doubt that God's been good to me

'Cause he put me smack dab in the middle of paradise
In the heart of the city where my dreams have come alive
And everything I have, and everything I see
Is just another reminder that God's been good to me

Keith Urban

playing house

How can the small things in life bring so much satisfaction?! Like house cleaning!

Last weekend I didn't do any housework or washing, and nothing much gets done during the week around here. But today... I got to catch up on it all. The house smells beautiful, looks beautiful... is beautiful! The sheets are clean, the towels washed. Everything is as it should be.

Better still, the bed sheets, bathroom towels and tea towels all match. They're all green this week. I love that.