I've done it... October

I know I say this a lot, but seriously, where did that month go? I look back over my calendar and I can see where it went. It went down a ho...

I know I say this a lot, but seriously, where did that month go? I look back over my calendar and I can see where it went. It went down a hole of university study and assessments.

katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || found marbles

I will reach the halfway point of my MBA studies in a month's time and I am hanging out for those two precious months away from text books. 

IN OCTOBER:

I WENT TO... I did take a couple of weekends away from study, but, if truth be told, keeping ahead of assessments almost negated the fun. Almost.

An op shopping weekend in Maitland netted bags full of op shop finds while a weekend of craft, camping, beautiful food and great company was well worth the stressful weeks of study beforehand. I'll pop up more pictures of my weekend away at Wild Rumpus' Jamboree soon. Stay tuned.

katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com || natural dyeing workshop
I ATE... Maitland has some damn fine cafes and eateries but we hung close to The Old Victoria, in East Maitland. I found The Old Victoria on Airbnb and didn't really notice it had a restaurant until we got there. What a find. The bar is stocked with Hunter Valley-made beers and craft whiskeys and my dinner choice of soft shell crab, Asian salad and lime ailoi was so suprising - in a really, really good way. We had such good nosh at dinner we opted to stay on for breakfast and, again, my choice of beans, eggs, chorizo and sourdough sounds simple enough, but was next level.

Locally, we're spoiled for new eateries and I got my hands on the prawn burger at Cook & Co. Eatery, at Woy Woy. Little old Woy Woy is on the cusp of having its moment in the sun. There's a new pizza joint due to open and a rooftop bar coming in time for summer. 

I OP SHOPPED... Maitland was an op shopping bonanza. My favourite purchase was found just as the Presbyterian Church op shop was about to close. I counted out $3 of loose change for this 1950s, maybe '60s, sewing basket. It's filthy in this photo but a little soapy water and a toothbrush and it's come up a treat. I also scored a stash of vintage sewing patterns for $1 each during a wander around Woy Woy last week. I submitted a big assignment on the Thursday night and a little op shopping was my reward on the Friday morning. It paid off

Not exactly op shopped, more scavenged, was a bag of old-school toys including marbles, those weird little bouncy balls and a Coca-Cola Super yo-yo. I found them in the hard rubbish of a house in my hood. It's just weird, nostalgic crap from my childhood, but I can't tell you how immensely happy I was to find it. I've been 'walking the dog' and doing other forgotten yo-yo moves ever since.

I MADE... Jamboree, hosted by the South Coast's Wild Rumpus, was a whole weekend set aside just to play and experiment with colour, and texture, and making. I loved every minute of it. When I set out to make something it's usually a project with a starting and end point. But a whole weekend where the end point didn't matter and experiments could fail, or not, was simply bliss.

I READ... I found Camille Aubray's Cooking for Picasso at an op shop and, you know, food, art, I was kinda sold. It's a treasure hunt, with clues from the past and a mad dash to make good at the end. I loved it. In fact, I haven't loved a book this much for a long time, though that may have something to do with the current comparative reading material of university texts. 

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