Snowed Under

Two laptops, stacks of writing samples and assessment data and pages of lists. It must be report time again. This happens twice a year and it means on top of full work days, I have to scrounge up every spare hour I have to write these reports. I can't wait for it to be over. If anyone has a spare 24 hours, please let me know as I could certainly use them!

Travel Plans Tuesday

Oh hooray! I am starting to get very excited as there in now officially less that 6 weeks until we leave!
This weekend we finalized accommodation and purchased some (rather expensive) Eurail passes. How amazing to think that in Europe, you are only a couple of hours away from a completely different country. It is particularly difficult to fathom, since I live in an island country and it would take me well more that 4 hours to get to the next STATE on a train, let alone a new country.

Things on my to do list this week include finalizing my travel packing and 'to do' lists, work out what kind of money needs to be taken over and on which type of card, attend a doctors appointment to see if any vaccinations are needed and the big one; write my school reports

The Love Vintage Show, Melbourne

On Sunday, my friend and I went into the city to visit the "Love Vintage Show". We had the most fabulous day, starting off early with a train ride into the city then a lovely breakfast on Lygon street. We visited the show, held at the beautiful Royal Exhibition Buildings in Carlton and spent the best part of the day trawling through the wonderful clothes, hats, shoes, jewellery and other beautiful vintage displays.

Everything in the building was original 1920s, 30s, 40s or 50s clothing and accessories, with the exception of a few stalls which sold clothes in a reproduction style. Many of the clothes had been handmade by their owners using their domestic sewing machines many years ago. How sad to think that in 50 years, no one will bother to hold such a display to buy or sell the clothes we wear now. Everything we wear is the same and all so cheaply made that it will fall apart, often before it is out of fashion.
Unfortunately, the original vintage clothes although stunning were well out of my price range but I did collect a few treasures to take home for my very own.

This thimble is sterling silver and was made in Birmingham, England in 1927. I intend it to be a piece for use and it is just the right fit! I also bought these hair clips, although brand new and not themselves vintage pieces, I felt they were pretty anyway.
I came back from the show, inspired, relaxed and ready for a very busy work week. This week is Education Week in Victoria so we are all busy preparing for school tours and open night. Phew!

Getting Organised: Choosing Outfits for the week

Last week, I did something I never thought I would do. In fact, I actually laughed at someone who told me that they did this a few years ago, I know, how terrible of me! Last week, I picked out five outfits for the working week on Sunday night. I loved it so much that I decided to do it again this week and I though I would share it because it definitely helped me to get organised and ready in the mornings much more quickly than usual. I also enjoyed picking out outfits when I had then time to linger over just the right combinations, rather than throw things together in a rush or find whatever is clean.
The whole process took 20 minutes from start to finish and I think I could get quicker as I get more practice. Last week, I created outfits based around some new clothes I had just purchased and this week I used a few jewelery pieces to match to outfits.
I started off with my iPhone weather app and 5 sturdy plastic hangers. I like these because they have two strong horizontal bars as well as notches in the sides for smaller straps.
Checking the weather for the week helped me to make sure the outfit I had chosen was appropriate. Fortunately, at this time of year the weather doesn't fluctuate much, it is usually in the mid to high teens every day.
When I had chosen the main parts of the outfit, I hung everything together on the one hanger and added extras like tights, camisole, merino wool long sleeve top and the necklace I wanted to wear all on the one hanger. This way, I am sure that I have enough clean tights/ tops for the whole week (no more getting out of the house late because of missing/ dirty items of clothing.) The smaller top bar was especially useful for hanging these smaller items.

Next, everything goes into the wardrobe in order of Monday- Friday. I hung my day coat and scarf in front so it is easy to grab each day.
There we go, and easy, quick and FUN task to help me stay organised during the working week!

Mums and Dads

My littles and I just became Mums and Dads (for the next two weeks anyway). These furry friends are our new babies, just hatched today. Small, fluffy and so sweet! They are incredibly hard to photograph too, they move around far too quickly!
Welcome to our school family little ones!

Travel Plans Tuesday

I got very busy this weekend looking up packing tips for my Europe trip in July, (this may or may not be because I am avoiding the writing of my mid-year reports.) Nearly all the accommodation has been booked now and we are off to buy rail passes on Saturday.

I had a great time clicking through Pinterest for a wealth of information about packing and planning for an overseas trip. There are SO many great resources out there from experienced travelers. I love this layout and the idea of planning for different combinations of clothing with basic block colours.

I have made several lists of 'things to do' before we leave. Number one on the list is writing my littles reports over the next few weekends! Number two is re-reading the guidebooks and dreaming of all the fabulous places to go and fun things to do.

Source: simplemom.net via Nicky on Pinterest

 

Travel Plans Tuesday

I have decided that every Tuesday I will document where I am at with my travel plans.
Here are some numbers to document the trip:
Less than 8 weeks before we depart.
3 countries to travel through
28 days away
5 different languages spoken (at least)
9 destinations to visit
2 girls
1 big adventure
I am so excited and looking forward to this trip. I can't believe that it has been almost one year since I went overseas to the United Kingdom and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel twice in the space of a year.
So many things will be different about this trip to my last. This time I am traveling with a lot more awareness of what to expect from a big overseas trip, especially when it comes to airplane travel, jet lag and visiting a non-english speaking country.
Last time I went with my former fiance, this time I am going with a long-time (girl) friend. Last time I stayed in hotels, this time I am staying in hostels. There will be lots more traveling from place to place and carrying things on trains. There will be a bigger culture change as we are not visiting any countries which speak english as a first language and the cuisines will be quite different. The trip will be twice as long and hopefully just as much fun.
We have spent hours researching, planning, revising and tweaking this trip and I just can't wait to get over there and start enjoying our time away.
Over the next weeks I will be writing my student's mid-year reports and dreaming of walking in the Swiss alps and photographing Bavarian castles.

I can't wait!

Oh May!

How can it be that May is here already?
I am not sorry to see the back of April. It has been a difficult month for me and I am hoping that May will bring with it a fresh start and a better perspective on my life.
These last few weeks have been particularly difficult, filled with sadness, longing, regret, worry and disappointment. I am ready to move on, I am ready to start again, I am ready to look at things with more hope and joy.

I took this photo on Instagram whilst I went on a quick stroll this chilly autumn evening. I spotted these trees which still had a few orange-red leaves scattered on them, but were covered in new white buds, ready to go when spring arrives. The photo is not excellent, but it was a timely reminder that new life follows old, that spring always follows winter and that when something ends, something new will be sure to begin.
Here's hoping anyway!