Elsja Down Under

Registry Events October 14, 2009

Andrew and I most likely will not be registering for gifts for the wedding. You see we have this challenge… if we register in the US, we have to find a way to get all the gifts back to Australia. If we register in Australia, no one in the US will be able to order the gifts online because ONLINE SHOPPING SUCKS HERE!

This makes me oh so sad. For years I’ve dreamed of walking around my favorites home good stores with one of those scanner guns selecting everything I’ve ever wanted! Anyone who knows me knows that I’d MUCH rather go on a shopping spree in Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn than Nordstroms or the Gap. But no… no registry for us.

Lately I’ve discovered yet another reason to be bummed about this… REGISTRY PARTIES! OMG I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve received from Macy’s, Crate and Barrel and Bloomingdales all asking me to join them for these awesome registry events. My most recent invite states “Scan your registry, sip wine, sample savory hors d’ouevres and indulge your sweet tooth with cake tastings. Take in bridal fashion and take home a fabulous gift bag. No purchase necessary.”

Um… yes please.

A night eating, drinking and shopping for housewares without spending a penny? It’s like my dream come true. Even if I don’t expect to get any gifts off of a registry, can I still just show up to these events and enjoy free food all while creating my dream registry? I could just scout out every event for the next year and every time I’m back in CA I’ll show up at the store using a different alias and createa new regsitry. It could be so fun, but it could also be quite depressing when I realize I won’t actually be getting any of the stuff I register for. At least there would be free wine.

No Cartoons Please! September 14, 2009

One day we will probably have children and when wedo, please oh please do not buy our child gobbs of clothing with annoying cartoon characters all over them. Seriously- I don’t understandwhy people think this stuff is cute! While attempting to find a birthday present for Andrew’s cousin’s 2 year old, I was faced with the challenging task of finding something cute and reasonably priced. We had a gift idea originally but then I changed our plans and startedspecifically looking for a cute little bathing suit to go with a little bucket andshovel/spade that I found. I love doing theme gifts and I thought that would be a cute one since summer is coming. So we went searching for the suit.

Over an hour later, we settled on buying one of those horse on a stick things. You know, the ones that kids “ride” around on that make the galloping noises? Yeah, one of those. Why? you ask…What happened to your beachy theme gift? you ask…

I’ll tell you what happened… the crappy Australian children’s clothing selection is what happened! And now I will share my experience with you all.

1. First we went to Big W. This is where I had the inspiration for the gift when I found the little bucket and spade. I thought it was a great idea and should be fairly simple! So we headed to the children’s clothing section to look for a suit and after searching for ages we found 1… count that…  ONE bathing suit for a child under 5 years old. ONE! It was hideous.

2. Next we stopped at Pumpkin Patch and found the cutest bathing suite for a 2 year old. SWEET! I thought we had scored in the 2nd shop. This was too easy! But then I had a look at the price tag- nearly $40! No thanks.

3. Next was some other kid store- another CRAP selection of swim suits. We had to hunt and search and finally ask someone where we could find the suits. There were about 2 choices (literally), both heinous! In the U.S. there are whole bathing suit sections in kid stores. OH GOD how I miss Old Navy and U.S. quality Target!

4. Finally we headed to Target – SURELY Target has something right? I thought I had hit the jackpot when I spotted a bathing suit section in the distance. YAY a whole section! This is what I’ve been looking for. I see 3 suits from afar that look decent. I get excited. Oooh a cute little red suit with white polka dots! Woohoo it would even match the red bucket I bought. I grabbed it off the rack with excitement, turned it around and sighed and groaned audibly. Dorthy the freaking dinosaur! WHY oh WHY must people ruin perfectly good children’s clothing by slapping on a big giant ugly cartoon character??? Turns out all the other ones I saw from a distance also were tainted. Dora the Explorer and the Wiggles had to go and ruin them all.

So there we were…Andrew was sick of shopping and I was feeling very homesick… that’s how we ended up buying the horse on a stick (which was the gift idea we had from the beginning anyways)…

When we have kids one day in the far and distant future- please don’t buy anything with Winne the Pooh, The Wiggles, Dora, Elmo, or any of that other crap. I don’t want to have to pretend to like it all and then hide it in the back of the closet only to  pull it out and put it on our child for an hour when you come to visit. Kids have a right to be stylish too!

I Think I May be Crazy June 24, 2009

I’ve done it.

I’ve finally done it.

I’ve crossed over to the dark side. I’ve become a person I never thought I would be. I’ve done something I swore I would never do. Does this make me a hypocrite? Does it mean I’m getting really freaking old?

Two years ago I was desperately trying to convince my sister that she was crazy. I stared at people with disdain and wondered what on earth they were thinking.

Now I’ve become that crazy person.

I really can’t believe I finally broke down and did it.

I bought Uggs.

Yes… UGGLIES. I bought some. Why? What does it say about me that I used to snarl at people wearing these horrendous boots, thinking they were actually fashionable. Ok so maybe I just want my little tootsies warm when I run across to the store during winter and maybe my only other alternatives are flip flops and tennis shoes which require me tying them up every time I put them on and maybe I don’t want to tie up tennis shoes every time I want to run across to the store when it’s cold out. Maybe I just want to slip something warm on to my feet very quickly.

Or maybe those are all excuses and I still haven’t figured out why I actually wanted some. Even my sister said “wow I can’t believe you spent money on those.”

What’s next? Will I be sporting some bright green Crocs in 2 years? God I hope not.

California Shopping & Dining June 3, 2009

What is it about going back to California that gives me this incredible urge to shop and eat? I don’t even typically like shopping all that much (unless it’s for home and kitchen goods) and even just a week ago I thought to myself “I won’t be buying much when I go home, I’ll save some money.”

Yeah, right.

That all changed. I leave for California tomorrow and of course I’m excited to see my friends and family but I’m also really excited to go shopping. So much for my plan to make this a cheap trip. I just can’t resist! I pretty much ONLY shop when I go home. I still think I’ve probably bought less than 10 items of clothing since I moved here. Shoes? 2 pairs since moving. I’ve been here almost 2 years people! That is an accomplishment for a girl!! However, the lack of my shopping down under means I go a bit crazy when I go back to the states. I probably could have squeezed all of my stuff into one big suitcase- or maybe one big and one little. But, I’m bringing 2 big ones to lug back all the stuff I buy while I’m away!

Here’s a little snapshot of a few of my favorite places that I intend to visit while I’m back:

California, here I come! I’ll be there Thursday, bright and early!!

Hideous August 5, 2008

Um… is it just me or do all the clothes in the shops right now resemble things we wore in our early years of high school (that’s 94-95 in case you were wondering). Am I the only one who thinks everything out right now is hideous and repulsive? What is up with all these heinous patterns and horrible cuts? I am so upset. I planned to buy some cute new clothes here since I NEVER shop in australia and the only decent items I’ve been able to purchase are plain old navy tank tops. Everything else makes me want to vomit. I’ve never seen a season of such nasty attire. I guess I’ll be a plain jane again for the next 6 months.

Boots and Books June 18, 2008

Ok so I found boots! FINALLY.

I went to dinner with some friends the other night in the city, and since I was 30 minutes early I decided to wander around and look for shoes. I had nearly given up with 10 minutes to spare when I found a pair of decent looking black boots. Now, they were a tad too big- but let’s face it, they won’t slip off my feet when they go halfway up my calf. They are kinda casual and I would prefer to have these in brown, but… they only had my size in black. They were the last ones left. They weren’t phenomenal but they weren’t hideous either. And they weren’t too expensive. So with 5 minutes until I had to meet my friends for dinner, I made the spur of the moment purchase.

Too big, too casual and too black?? I’M SOLD! But really, I do like them. I think.

 
In other Elsja news, I finished reading a book. This might not seem like a big deal, but it is- because I hardly ever read. I can’t recommend this book highly enough… I really liked it. Eat Pray Love is one woman’s tale of self-discovery (in a nutshell). I had seen it in Target and thought about buying it but it seemed too “search for existential meaning” for my liking…like some typical “I found myself through God” book. So, I just wasn’t interested.

Until… I saw the author on Oprah. Then I was sold and I knew I had to read it. Good ol’ Oprah is a marketing genius! (If I could just get her help with my invention idea…)

The author throws in some humor and sarcasm, which I like. She is very real and talks about her highs and lows (lots of lows) and doesn’t make this all seem like some bogus spiritual journey.

Be warned…this book talks a lot about meditation, religion and yoga… which aren’t for everyone- but I can honestly say, she wrote it in such a way that it doesn’t seem like it was written by some fruitloop. I tend to be the type that sits in a yoga class and giggles to myself when everyone around me is trying to meditate and “clear their chakras” blah blah hocus pocus… I always thought that aspect of yoga was a bunch of crap. I really was just there for the exercise. This book enlightened me to think that maybe meditation wouldn’t be such a ridiculous idea after all.

Oh… and she also throws in a fair share of food and sex… so there’s something for everyone!

I’m Horrible at Shopping June 6, 2008

I already hated shopping for clothes enough as it was in the US… I’m just really bad at making decisions, bad at spending money, bad at dealing with the crowds. Well it’s even worse now. I don’t know where to shop, I don’t know the good stores vs. shitty stores. I try to find boots that I like (I’ve never owned a pair of boots in my adult life) but on the racks, they all look hideous… I swear, I they are all either too pointy… too dressy… too hookery… too country…or too “motor cycle rider” as andrew said today, but on other girls- they look so cute. Why can’t I find cute boots? Then I have this problem that if I DO buy new boots, I’d have to buy new jeans to fit in the boots. I’m too lazy to try things on but I NEED warm winter clothes. I see really cute outfits in the window but then everything is so expensive. I literally have bought 2 items of clothing (both dresses for weddings) in the last 8 months of living here.

I just suck at shopping. Can someone go shopping for me? PLEASE.

A Few Things October 27, 2007

First I’d like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful boyfriend. He’s finally 27 years old today… and he had to get up at 5:30am to go to work Poor baby.

 

Secondly, I’d like to point out to everyone that our time changed last night. So if you were finally getting used to the time difference between Australia and the US (and even if you still had no clue), be prepared for another week or 2 of confusion. As of right now, we are now 6 hours behind (technically 18 hours ahead but that’s painful to calculate). And as of NEXT week when the US time changes, we will be 5 hours behind. So here’s an example for those of you who cant do math easily:

If it is 5:00pm in California… it is 12:00pm in Sydney. 

You’ll get the hang of it.  

Speaking of the time change… why did the US have to go and screw up Halloween? One more week of daylight isn’t really going to do anyone that much good. In fact, it just destroys the scary dark aspect of Halloween. I remember when I was little I ALWAYS looked forward to the time change because that meant we could trick-or-treat earlier and the decorations seemed spookier in the dark. Oh well, sucks for all the kiddies now. Stupid time changes. (But actually I am really happy about ours here in Australia… this morning it was still dark at 5:30am! Usually it starts getting light at 4:30am!!!!)

P.S.- we bought a couch!! We found one in “sand”- a darker beige color. Hopefully it doesn’t look like Ass. We kinda just said “yup that’s good” and now Andrew and I don’t really even remember if it was in fact that good. I remember it being yellow-ish. I guess we’ll wait and see!!!

 

 

The Couch Hunters October 25, 2007

Andrew and I went searching for a couch yesterday. We found one we wanted that was pretty comfy and spacious (but not TOO big) and in our price range. They had it displayed in some ugly color so we decided to go order it today in a different color. The fabric swatch we picked out looked great and it looks good in the picture below so we thought it would be great. Everything was great.

Yeah… turns out it’s not so great. Today we went to order it and saw a different hideous couch in the color swatch we had picked out for ours. This couch was atrocious in its design…and the fabric was suddenly looking less appealing. Kinda looked like a brownish/purply/grey color. It would totally clash with my pillows I bought that are still MIA on some random boat in the middle of the ocean. Luckily, we found another color we liked- a lighter chocolate shade of brown. Yay for us.

But then we were told it was discontinued!

So luckily we found another color we liked, a dark camel/taupe color. Yay for us!

And it too was discontinued. UGH.

Finally we decided on a color that was good enough, not our favorite, but it soon became perfect when compared to the other options… a light greyish/sagey green. Yay for us!

“Oh, I’m sorry, I have some really bad news… the “fawn” is discontinued as well.”

WTF? – they discontinued these colors to bring in the new spring line of electric-blue, piss-yellow and whothehellwouldbuythis-purple (no joke).

So now… what were we stuck with? Either the “raisin” brownish/purply/grey color or a SUPER light beige that would get dirty and ugly in 2 seconds. They did have another brown fabric that I thought was decent but andrew said it looked old and cheap. We didn’t really like any of our options… what were we to do?

We decided to sleep on it. I don’t really know how sleeping will help us make a decision between two ugly colors- but we really like the couch and it’s in our price range. All the other good ones (a total of 2) we found were $1700-2400…no thanks! The brownish/purply/grey really doesn’t look too bad in the picture. maybe it was just the God-awful couch it was draped over that made it appear uglier than it really is.

WWJD?

Mission Accomplished July 22, 2007

I’ve been searching and searching for a wine bar/cabinet for MONTHS now. Literally months! I’ve found a few that are decent, but they are all cheaply made, or small, or too big or too expensive. My main problem is that all the ones I was finding fit plenty of wine bottles, and maybe SOME wine glasses, and thats IT. I really wanted it to fit all my glasses and maybe some other alcohol bottles too. Soooo I finally sucked it up, spent a bit more than I wanted and bought this one from Cost Plus World Market. After comparing a million of them, I realized that this is just the best of all the things I want in a wine bar. It’s got plenty of space for LOTS of stuff and it’s not TOO giant (it’s about 3 1/2 feet tall and 2 1/2 feet wide). I think what finally sold me on it was the fact that the store would build it for me for free- that is seriously the BEST part! Now I hope that I have room for it where ever we end up living because this WILL be coming with me to Australia… even if the only place it fits is in the bathroom.

As I mentioned before, I had been looking for one of these for MONTHS. I’m the most indecisive person ever so I just haven’t been able to make a commitment to ONE item. I kept reading reviews and pondering the ways I would have to put these items together myself. I had seen this one a few times but didn’t want to spend the money. Sooo, as you can imagine I felt a huge relief after finally buying this today. I felt like i should celebrate. I thought about buying some wine to fill up the bar (and then drink in celebration) but I’d have no one to celebrate with. I wish my boyfriend were here, he’d make these kinds of decisions WAY easier, and they we could drink some wine together.

One Day I’ll Be a Pampered Chef! April 22, 2007

What a fabulous weekend in the wonderful world of “Elsja buying things she won’t use for a year.” You see, awhile back I went to a pampered chef party hosted by Jackie Rohlfing and there was so much stuff I wanted. She recommended that I host a party so that I could maybe get some discounts on the things I wanted to buy.

Great idea!

So this weekend, I had not only 1, but 2 parties! I was very happy that my friends and family could make it out to join the fun. I really didnt expect everyone to buy stuff. I’ve never been to one of these parties where there weren’t at least 1 or 2 people who just said “thanks but no thanks” but EVERY single person got something!! I was amazed!

So you know what this means for me? DISCOUNTS!! and FREE STUFF!!! So exciting. Here is a list of the stuff I got this weekend:

For 50% off I got:

1. All new pots and pans that I heard from 3-4 people were REALLY good. I just really can’t afford the All Clad $1,000 set. And since I’m not a fancy chef yet, I don’t think I need pans worth $1,000.

2. A cutlery set: including chef, bread, santoku, utility and paring knives.

3. A cool scraper/spatula set. Made of silicone so they wont scratch my nice new pans

And now for the list of stuff I got ENTIRLY for free!!!

1. Honing tool for the knives

2. Quick stir pitcher

3. Rectangular 9 x 13 stone baking dish

4. Oval medium sized stone baking dish

5. Scaper cleaning brush for my new stoneware

6. Hold and Slice (this will be so useful)

7. Mini spatula

8. Measure, Mix and Pour (my sister has this and I love it)

9. A trifle bowl

10. All purpose spreader

11. Mini tart shaper

12. 2 bottles of the cinnamon spice blend

13. Microfiber dish towels (didn’t even ask for these, they just threw them in, yay!)

14. Baker’s roller

ALL THAT FOR FREE!!! It was a good weekend for shopping for the kitchen that I don’t have yet. But I will. One day. Hopefully in a few months  

Blankie February 26, 2007

This is me:

 

 

 

Well… except for the thumb sucking part. But you see, this weekend I bought myself a blanket. Not just any blanket, a very very special blanket. Around Christmas I was at Nicole’s and I was cold and Adrian let me borrow his wonderful NAP blanket. It was very nice and it gave me an idea. I thought I would buy similar blankets for my niece and nephew for their birthdays since they always fight over the “soft blanket” in their house.

So I headed to Brookstone Saturday night with the kiddies while I was babysitting and picked up a few NAP Cuddle blankets for Preston and Emma. I decided to also buy myself a NAP Dream Blanket since I fell in love with Adrian’s. While I was at it, I picked up a travel size Cuddle blanket (which I can totally justify since I REALLY need it for all my 15 hour plane rides!)

Remember in the movie Mr. Mom from the 80’s the vacuum cleaner (“jaws”) started to eat the kid’s “woobie” and the kid freaked out? Well thats what would happen if someone tried to steal my dream blanket.

I’m in love. It is the softest most cuddly piece of heaven that you could ever imagine and it’s all mine.

Of course I slept with my new blankie last night… and I dont mean I covered myself up with it to keep warm. No, I scrunched it up in a ball and hugged it all night. We cuddled. Me and my woobie.

Christmas is Over December 29, 2006

Another Christmas down So sad that we have to wait another year for all the holiday fun and food and festivities. I hope Christmas was good for everyone… I know it was for me My family had a nice time watching the kids get excited that Santa had been there. We ate our traditional Swedish pancake breakfast and Turkey dinner. Just my parents, my sister and her family and me.  I am sad that I couldnt spend Christmas with my love… but he’ll be here in a few weeks

I’m REALLY excited about my wonderful new ipod shuffle that I got for Christmas. I already used it at the gym and it is so exciting to just clip it onto my clothes rather than set it on the machine and worry about dropping it (like i have several times). Last night I spent a good hour updating my gymjam playlist to include some fun new songs for me to break a sweat to.

Another fun item is my new Treo wx phone. Got this last week, mainly for work purposes… but it is nice to have the internet and email at my fingertips. Now I spend a lot less time on my actual computer. That is probably a good thing!

 I think one of the most exciting things I did this week was buy a huge bin of Christmas ornaments, all at 50% off. Why you ask? Well, for my Christmas tree… that I will have next year… in the apartment/house that I don’t have yet… but I will. I hope. Otherwise, I’ll still be living at home with a big box of colored glass balls in my bedroom. That would SUCK. Oh, and I also bought 50% off plates and cooking utensils and stuff like that… again, for the house i dont have yet.

And the most important day of this whole week (other than Christmas) is today. Because today is the day I met Andrew for the first time (in person) in Sydney. Awww it’s been a whole year since I met my love! Crazy how time flies. And here’s a distorted picture from that very night.