July. The first day of July was spent on a boat with old and new friends, driving around the Sydney Harbour, drinking beer and eating snacks on a clear and sunny winter's day. In terms of what Sydney has to offer, a sunny day out on the Harbour is very close to perfection. It rivals the constant stream of European Instagram posts that are flooding everyone's feed at this time of year. The ocean is a magnificent deep blue, and the vistas of the harbour are just as good as those looking back on Positano.
After such a busy June, I spent the early parts of this month trying to settle back into my routine that keeps me on track, but it didn't last for long. Mid-week events kept popping up and throwing me off course. In the beginning, I was resistant and frustrated with not being able to keep to the things I normally do. Routine keeps me on track with my exercise, nutrition and spending, but after a while, it does become repetitive and monotonous. With encouragement from my Co-Star app push notifications - there was something about shaking up routines - I eventually let go and ran with whatever came my way.
Levi's grandmother sadly passed away and we attended her funeral on the Central Coast on a Monday. That night we drove back to Sydney, returned our hire car, and took up the offer of free tickets to a Mark Ronson DJ set at The Star. After the day we had, it felt like a fun, freeing and frivolous way to shake off the solemn day we had.
I also went to see a play at Hayes Theatre, which is around the corner from our apartment, with Katie and Tash. We saw Razorhurst, a play set in Sydney in the late 1920s about the two women who ran the underbelly of the city and started razor gang wars between their two fractions. It was a fantastic two woman show that really pulled you into the tension and sinister nature of the time in Sydney.
We also had a trip to the Gold Coast. The occasion was to celebrate some dear friends who are having their first baby. At the end of the afternoon, after the co-ed baby shower had wrapped, it was just the six of us left - me, Levi, Rachel, Jackson, Sarah and Jay. We all lived and fell in love with our respective partners in the same house. It was our first home out of home, it was our very early 20s, it was the beginning of our lives. We share memories and moments that will intertwine us close to one another forever. Even though we don't live together anymore, we aren't each other's housemates any more, we share the same feeling that no matter what, deep down, we have one another, and despite times where we don't get to see or talk to one another as much as we'd like, we always have one another. The type of friends where you just pick up from where you left off.
Before and after the baby shower was spent catching up with all of our close friends who squeezed us in for a fleeting visit. I had breakfast with Ashleigh and baby Evie, we were also joined by my Dad. Mum was busy walking 60 km through the Gold Coast Hinterland for the Kokoda Challenge. Levi and I also got to catch up for coffee and croissants with our dear friends Meg and Ben before they headed off on a road trip for the weekend.
On coming back from the Gold Coast we had the week to be lived like we're in Europe on summer holidays and not at work, grudgingly trying to get through winter. We ate dumplings and had wine and beer at the cheap and cheerful Chinese Noodle Restaurant on a Monday night before seeing the ultimate high-summer vibe band Friendly Fires. They haven't released new music or toured in a really long time so the gig almost felt like a battle to win the crowd over. The crowd was all diehard fans who were in it for the long haul. Friendly Fires won us. It was the best concert I've been to in a long time. Then on the Wednesday night of that week we went back for more, this time starting our night at the new Mary's in Circular Quay. We had burgers before heading to the Opera House to see Tycho, an American producer who makes this wonderful ambient tempo driven music. In all of Tyco's older music there are no words, just instrumentals, and I often put it on to work to as it gets me into this really deep mode of concentration. Tycho were great however I didn't think the Opera House was the right venue for them, as my much as one loves the Opera House! It was too big, and it was all seated, and the music made you feel like you wanted something smaller and more intimate where you could move your body more.
To round out the busy month, my Dad was in Sydney the last weekend for a friend's party. He has been wanting to try Totti's since Merivale took over The Royal so this time I booked in advanced and we got a table, on a sunny Sunday out in the terrace no less. We were joined by our family friends Ross and Janine, and much to my relief, everyone loved the food, the service and the terrace.
After so much eating this month, I am straight back onto my trusty broccolini, mushroom, tempeh dish.
I have tried to stay on track with my budget as much as I can and I think I am doing OK. I know I splurged a bit last month but I figure that I'm not going on holidays any time soon so I may as well enjoy myself. After not buying clothes, I seem to buying more and more tickets. In some ways that's great, because it means I'm having more experiences, but they are also quite expensive and add up after a while!
My yoga practice has also taken a hit. I have been going where I can and feel this overriding guilt of knowing I should be going when I am doing something else.
~ New In - The Secondhand Edition ~
Two new secondhand pieces from eBay, a Witchery knit top ($30) and a lovely white linen dress for summer ($40). Both are simple, in excellent condition and I know I will get lot of wear out of both. I've stocked up on my knit jumpers now so I am happy with where my winter wardrobe is. The only thing that could improve it is a pair of black skinny jeans, but they're proving difficult to buy in good condition second hand!
~ Read, watched and listened ~
I saw The Lion King and Booksmart, loved both!
To Live and Die in LA podcast - I gobbled up this podcast over the course of two weeks. It's been some time since I've listened to a crime podcast and this one reminded me how incredibly thrilling they can be. In this podcast, you follow journalist Neil Strauss and a private investigator Jayden, into the disappearance of Adea Shabani, an aspiring young actress who goes missing without a trace. What unfurls is a meticulous real-time account that pieces together close to exactly what happened.
~ Eats ~
Despite all of the dining out this month, I managed to make a new recipe. We bought a box of risoni for this pasta salad I'm obsessed with but I was looking for what else I could do with it. I tried this Tomato Risoni with silverbeet, feta, walnuts and honey from Good Food. It was pretty good... Levi said it was a little confusing but it still tasted good.
x.
