Best Friends & Birthdays

Just sharing some of the wonderful moments from the birthday celebrations of my very dear friend Tegan of Tink's Simplicity. For her birthday this year she organised for a bunch of us to go out to dinner in Sydney's Newtown. The restaurant was pretty tinsy, and so our entourage of friends completely filled every table. For the record, filling a restaurant with all the people you love = amazing! Joel and I did what we do best and ordered two separate meals to share between us. Their vegan pizza's were so delish! Overall, the night was full of good food and even better company. Just what I needed to shake up those mid-week blues. Happy Birthday Teags!

While we're on the topic of birthdays... I completely missed my own birthday! My blog birthday! So Happy Belated Birthday Far From The Mocking World and congratulations on finally passing the one year mark!

Coconut Rum & Photobooth Fun

Just sharing some photos from work the other night. Saturday night's at my bar are usually quite conservative. The crowd is much older and much more mature than the Friday youngens. But we decided to shake things up this week, and invited the people from Malibu come out. We served our drinks in coconuts and took silly photo's in front of a vacation type backdrop.

The Art of Gift Giving

As promised, here is a post detailing the wonderful gifts that I received for my 21st Birthday last week! I adore each and every one of the gifts I was given. I don't ever expect anything from my friends or family apart from their "presence", and so it was a lovely surprise to unwrap so many amazing items the day after my party.

The art of gift giving is something that I pride myself on. There is no better challenge than that of thinking up the perfect gift for someone. And no better reward than seeing their smile to reaffirm your choice. It's an art form that doesn't necessarily require a lot of money, but rather a little bit of time, patience, thought and of course love. And it is safe to say that each of my gift givers should be considered experts. Here are some photos...

I received an overwhelming amount of teapots and teacups for my birthday. Some were new, some were vintage and some were even oriental, but each of them made the smile on my face grow even larger. Worthy of mention is the squarish one right in the middle. This little charmer is over 150 years old and was a gift from my Great Grandmother. She hasn't been with us for about 5 years now, but gave this to my Grandmother to pass on through the generations to me. It was actually her Great Grandmothers... so I'm a bit unsure as to how many "greats" it actually is. Either way though, it is lovely to have something heirloomy to pass onto my children one day.
 

 

For some years now I have been a collector of the lovely, timeless and sentimental jewelry created by Pandora. Although I have a rather large collection, I received some new pieces this year that really made my heart swoon. The bracelet is something different, and has just the right amount of patterning to make it glimmer in the sun. The ring was a gift from my best friend... something I pointed out months and months ago whilst we were shopping for another friend. And the charms will make for a cute addition to my bracelet from my boyfriend. Now I just need an occasion to wear them all!

Books and lists are two other things I enjoy in my everyday life. This leather bound book was a gift from a friend, who instead of writing a card, wrote some inspiring words on the inside of the cover. The "listography" book was an accompanying gift from the bestie, another item that I had admired in passing which she sneakily purchased for me.

I think I have made it fairly evident that on rainy days, or really any day, I will whip up a batch of something to cure those blues. I love that my friends know this about me and purchased me gifts to continue the trend. I just don't know which book I should bake from first! 

Some of the other amazing gifts I received were these bottle's of Chandon, the Marc Jacobs Daisy Ring (so freakin adorable), a make up bag for my latest Napoleon purchases, Revlon nail polish and a one year subscription to Frankie Magazine! 

Oh and I cannot forget... my parents were ever so kind and gave me a brand new Cannon DSLR (used to take these, and so many other wonderful photos). Might I just say, best parents ever!

I also received some very well thought out gifts from friends to help me finish off my 101/1001 list. One of my best friends cleverly purchased me a 6hr Photography Day Course in the city, crossing off number six. While my family friends thought it appropriate to give me a gift voucher for Circus Trapeze lessons, which is about as extreme as I will go, crossing off number 64.

For those of my friends who read this regularly, thank you again! I can't believe how lucky I am. 

Lauren's List

It has been a common practice amongst my friends to get up and say a few words about what we enjoy about the birthday friend. Like I mentioned in the previous post, the speech part of my 21st birthday was truly amazing. It was so lovely to hear such kind words from my parents, my sister and my two best friends. One of them however, took it upon herself to stray a little from the norm, and complied a list that was seemingly endless. I definitely need to share it with you. It reads...


"In the nature of Kaisha's recent list frenzy (for those of you who read her blog) here is a few things I know and love about Kaisha.

• She prefers mints over chewing gum. 
• She has a crush on Harry Potter. 
• She is against wallets, and prefers her receipt filled coin purse. 
• Has an incredible memory, especially when it comes to movie or Simpsons quotes. Or just anything in general. 
• She gets angry when I say 'abracadabra' instead of 'avada kedavra'.
• She loves mushrooms and eats them at every opportunity. One time she had a dream about mushrooms and throughout the past year has considered being a mushroom farmer. 
• She has way too many jobs for one person. 
• She rarely takes compliments. 
• Has 50+ pets. 
• Loves baking, especially cupcakes. 
• Is super smart with one degree down and one to go. 
• Enjoys writing creatively where she can be graded. 
• Is a big nerd when it comes to stationary, highlighting, handwriting and colour schemes (but who isn't).
• Loves books, including the smell. 
• Kaish leaves her assessments to the last minute because she somehow works best under pressure despite the tears often involved. 
• Prefers her clothes on the floor rather than hung up. 
• Likes second hand shops for their cute vintage items. 
• Has an illegitimate wife. 
• Likes the juice of olives, but not the actual olive. 
• Is an obsessive compulsive perfume user and abuser. 
• She refuses to wear sunscreen. 
• She is frantic about correct spelling and grammar. 
• She cringes at people crunching or slurping their food. 
• She is still waiting for her acceptance letter into Hogwarts. 
• She is the only one who gets my jokes. 
• She enjoys making similar lists. 

But more importantly, I just want to say HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY. We are all so proud of you and have no doubts that you will bring laughter and good times to all of us in the next 21 years. I love you".

Re-writing this and re-reading the one written by my other bestie has made me teary again. I love my friends.

Runaway To The Circus

Nothing screams childhood nostalgia like when the circus comes to town! So, for my 21st Birthday I decided to runaway to the circus... and lead all my family and friends in a night set to farewell my infant years (hence why I thought it appropriate to dress as the ring master). 

The night began in true carnival fashion... with popcorn and cotton candy in abundance. The sugary goodness was infectious and I became so incredibly overwhelmed with the arrival of so many of my beautiful family and friends.

All of the guests looked amazing! We had lion tamers, mimes, clowns, gypsies, fortune tellers, acrobats, circus animals and even our very own carnival technician.

 

 

For most of the night we pretty much just clowned around... it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with family members I rarely get to see, as well as my lovely friends of course.

After everyone's dinner had settled, it was time for the cake and speeches. The clown cupcakes came way of my talented best friend Kahlia. She saved the day by providing me something to "blow candles out on" when a number of cake ladies fell through. Equally as amazing was the surprise mushroom cake made during the day by my darling boyfriend (and aesthetics aside, it was delicious!)

 

Looking back on the night, I'd have to say that the speeches were definitely one of the highlights. Although they went a little longer than anticipated, I had the opportunity to thank a number of people for their positive impact on my life thus far, as well as having the pleasure of listening to such kind words spoken by those closest to me. My father (in true Dad form) thought it appropriate to share highly embarrassing stories will all of the guests. Likewise, my two best friends took some time to let out some of my deepest darkest secrets. But at the end of it all, I could not have been more appreciative for everyone that came along to celebrate.

As you know... the circus is extremely exhausting. So at the winding down of the night, the make up was removed and costumes were traded for hoodies and cardies. The few of us that remained drank wine and roasted marshmallows around an open fire.

Overall, I could not have been happier with the outcome of the event (except of course if it had to of stopped raining). My 21st Birthday in its entirety was definitely the best. I look back on the photos now, and think to myself how truely blessed I am to be surrounded by such amazing individuals.

Check back soon for a gift post... I received some lovely pressies!

Saturday Night Fever

As the winding down of the weekend has finally finished, it is time to share some of the special events. The entire weekend was dedicated to celebrating one of my best friend's 21st birthday. Her party (perfectly themed 70's Disco) was immortalised by films such as Saturday Night Fever. Mirror balls and colourful settings transformed the inside of the function room, and helped to unleash the disco era upon the psyche of all the guests. As a result, we saw many hip hugging bell bottom jeans, short skirts and spandex sparkle under the disco lights. I channeled my inner ABBA and decided to wear a bright blue full-length jumpsuit. The look was complete with platform shoes, dramatic makeup, a classic 70's hairstyle, neon nail polish and oversized accessories. The abundance of daring disco moves, motown sing-a-longs and roller skates is proof that everyone else also channeled their inner 70's inspiration. In the end it was a wonderful night, definitely one to leave a mark on history!

Here is some photo evidence...