25 today

all i wanted for my birthday was:

1. cake
2. a dinner date

what i really got was:

1. a morning alarm in the form of some very sleepy happy birthday singing from bond at 6am.
2. some amazing gifts from my lovely boyfy, even a couple of surprise gifts i didn't know about. and if you know me, you know that's no mean feat since i ruin pretty much every surprise i'm involved in, as surprise giver or surprise receiver. one of my gifts came from here. let me know if you guess what one it is.
3. delicious breakfast in bed
4. a gorgeous sunny day
5. a free ride to work on the bus
6. a couple of surprise packages at work from my gorgeous family and a super friend.
7. a delicious homemade cake from my work friends complete with candles.
8. a special delivery of beautiful flowers to my desk.
9. a supreme dinner date with bond to porteno, where i ate so much incredible food i felt a bit sick - including the world's best dessert. it was like a cross between pavlova and peanut brittle and trifle.
10. a phone call from my wifey in the uk

i am truly truly lucky to have such wonderful people in my life to help me celebrate my 25 years of living.

thanks everyone for making my day super special. (especially you matthew bond you lovely man x).

hey, you two, stop growing up so fast

my little brothers max and tom sent boyfy and i a gorgeous card this week in the mail, inside, their newest portraits from school.

i love those two to pieces. and then some.

i love that i remember the days they were both born and now they're writing me cards ( !!! what happened to those little teeny, tiny babies?! ) and i love thinking about all the times people used to think they were my own little offspring. god bless those strong rowntree genes.

i love that they call boyfy "Bondi". with an i. like bondi beach. too cute.

i love that when i look at photos of the two of them, i see dad and em. and even though i'm a grown up now, i still wish i had my parents close, and i miss them a lot.

needless to say, this little baby is now taking pride of place on our fridge. and i'm beginning to think a weekend to adelaide might be in order.

thanks max and tom, for being the cutest little spunks i know.

love, bel x x

p.s. i love your photo xxx ooo

{not so black and white} sunday

so this weekend was a bit quiet. maybe really, really quiet.

maybe so quiet that in fact, boyfy and i went a bit stir crazy, got a bit cranky and got a bit fighty.

but that happens to everyone right? you kinda get on each other's nerves a bit and it gets a bit grumpy? then you talk it out and everyone apologises and you promise that tomorrow will be a bright, brand new shiny day to enjoy and to leave the moodiness and unnecessary grumpiness in yesterday? that's our remedy anyway.

and this bright brand new shiny day for us happened to be a pearler for just hanging out and appreciating each other. a sunday perfect for going out for eggs and coffee, macaroons and strolls through the city, pink lemonade in the park and one of our most favourite (nerdy) pastimes - new book buying.

what a lovely turn around.

enjoy your week! x

i really flippin love this woman

i love her.
we can not talk for weeks and then blab on skype about the most mundane things like french toast like it was only yesterday we last saw each other.
i love that she's been in london for almost 12 months and she still sounds as aussie as the day she left.
i love that our chins match in that picture.
i love that distance isn't (always) coming between us.
i love that simple plan wrote a song especially for us.
i don't love how i start to cry a little bit every time we say goodbye.

kim kathleen schmidt you are my favourite x x