Jordandchan

As we enter the final month of the year it has become apparent to me how quickly the year has passed.

Much has changed, and much has remained the same. This time last year we were contemplating our return to Australia, and now we are back and well and truly settled. There are things that have panned out as we thought we would, and some that haven’t. Some expectations have been met, other have been a let down, and still other have exceeded what we could imagine.

It has certainly been an interesting experience.

I just realised that this post isn’t actually going anywhere… but I think I am ok with that.

this post is just to acknowledge all of the people we know who are going to become parents in 2010 - the list continues to grow and we are so excited you have shared this news with us. we wont name names as its not for us to tell but know that you are all very special and important and we look forward to meeting your new additions when they arrive.

these are words that you definately dont want to hear from:
1. your hairdresser
2. your dentist

thankfully i have never had the number 1 happen except for once at home when i died my own hair…

the second seems to be happening quite a lost of late. and its not cool. i honestly am starting to think that i ought to have all my teeth ripped out and get fake ones - surely that makes for less hassles.

yesterdays appointment was mostly supposed to be cosmetic - fix a up 2 little things he wasnt happy with - tears and the threat of another root canal therapy later i have discovered that teeth can be a little like icebergs - and mine especially are. the poor man apologises profusely every time but even his skilled eyes cant see the mess that lurks beneath my seemingly “wonderous smile”** - so when your dentist doesnt  think there is a problem and with both hands firmly wedged in your mouth - that last thing you want to hear are the muffled but still audible words “oh no” followed by a long sigh and the pat on the shoulder by the dental nurse who now knows more about you than most and has sent thanks you notes to the people who referred you because you have personally funded her christmas shopping expeditions for the next decade…

my mantra of “this doesnt hurt, its only uncomfortable” rings like a giant clanging cymbal of a lie because it does hurt, it is uncomfortable and i have to resiste ALL temptation to run screaming from the building/

i am not a wuss - i have had a broken nose, tattoos and a blown knee… but i loathe dentists - more so now than ever before.

only 1 more trip before christmas… i hope

**his words not mine.

back to place we got engaged - almost the same carriage - the ferris wheel at luna park - an enchanted evening…

on saturday night jordan treated me to a very special night out - after a gorgeous picnic with friends we headed off on the train to a secret location (well a secret to me), a quick change of transport and trying to not get recognised from people of my past - we made it to luna park. Keep reading…

ive posted a picture of snow becasue its already REALLY quite hot outside already - and its only just past 9am.

we have been a bit worried about how we would both go, especially after not experiencing a full aussie summer in a while. we arrive halfway through this years and that was pretty bad - but as people who favour cooler weather over hot - we may be in a spot of bother.

so in an effort to ignore what is outside today i will simply look at snow photos and hope there is a sudden change in the weather early this afternoon - which i doubt.

I now know what it feels like to be trapped in a lift.…

maybe it was because it was morning and i hadnt had my coffee yet but it wasnt that bad… i called the left people - told them i was stuck - and then sat on the floor to read my book.

it was a little bit hot - and it was a pretty long 20 minutes, but i came out the otherside unscathed and ready to start my work day… and i still managed to make it to my desk by 8.30am.

Last saturday we had some plans fall through slightly… Concidentally it was 7-Eleven day - when by uttering the phrase “Happy 7-Eleven day” at any store you could get a free Slurpee.

We had a few things to do, so we printed out a map of 7-Elevens on our route and decided to see how many free Slurpees we could get.

Keep reading…

What do you do when your first instinct when you meet someone is to bite them?
No im not referring to some crazed vampire person but to the introduction between Bentley and Ella.

I guess at the ‘parents’ of one of the parties involved, being nervous was expected… but we couldn’t have been prouder of our boy. He was well behaved and even played a little with his new friend. No claws were involved at all but he certainly had some sharing issues with some of Ellas toys and her mat to sit on.
I know that i was, and am assuming everyone else was blown away by the amazing gentleness shown by both baby and kitten. There was touching and patting and sitting together and not the slightest hint of a problem. The 4 of us adults all perched and ready to snap into intervene but we all just watched the two of them get to know each other a little bit.
I hope this is a friendship that will last a long, long time.
from this picture of them sharing a chair it looks like maybe it might…

I was nervously standing up the back of a church wondering how to make it to the other end without crying.

it was the federal election day 2001. the day of my sisters wedding. a warm november day. the beginning of a lifetime together.

i hardly imagined when kel bought this kind of odd guy home to attend my year 12 formal that this would be the man she would stand up in front of God and all our family and friends and promise to be with for the rest of her life.

i think partly i didnt want her to because in some way that would be having to say goodbye to my sister. In reality what it meant was that i f inally got the brother that i wanted. And in more than a few ways, dave has been a better sibling than i could have asked for… well at least most of the time :)

i wouldnt have imagined that 8 years later we would be living right across the road and watching them raise a gorgeous baby boy, one that i have come to love more as time goes by.

so here’s to 8 years of a marriage filled with all the love imaginable…

There have been two notable occurrences in the past week I thought I would bring briefly to your attention.

Firstly, jord&chan was featured on Smashing Magazines list of 50 Beautiful and Creative Blog Designs. I am honoured and privileged to be in a list with the likes of Jason Santa Maria, 31three and Mark Boulton.

A big hello to anyone arriving here from the Smashing Magazines post. You may be interested in checking out the design work I do over at jordesign​.com as well.

The other exciting news is that I am now  published photographer. Hot off the presses last week, the latest issue of Architecture Australia magazine features some of my photos of the Urban Islands studios that were held a few weeks back.

A very exciting week.