CHIPSTAGRAM: BIRTHDAY EDITION

Hooray for birthdays! I'm twenty-two, and if I was the kind of person who made "things to do by twenty-two" lists, then I would be very depressed right now. Luckily I'm not, so I'm not! || I spent the night before having cocktails at The Baxter Inn, like a classy motherfucker. It's a funky little place, perfect for a chipster night out- a prohibition-era speakeasy style whiskey bar, and bartenders with moustaches -  MOUSTACHES (I'm not sure why their website is so ugly, it's probably ironic, too ironic for me to comprehend).

 

  
More gifts from Rob, the most excellent boyfriend, a gentleman and a scholar.

These Coralie Bickford-Smith hardcovers are the loveliest and immediately after he gave me this set I started re-reading P&P, which I have read at least six times already (I read it aloud to Rob and he promptly fell asleep - hilarious). I know the old adage is never judge a book by its cover, but dammit I can't help it. The only reason I've never read The Road, for instance, is that I haven't been able to find a copy that has the cover artwork I want, they all have the movie tie-in cover. Don't get me started on movie tie-in book covers, why do publishers do this and why does Keira Knightley seem to appear in all the film adaptations of novels I want to read? I'm sick of seeing her face on book covers. 

 

Brig's brought me back this souvenir from New York (*hair flick*), I like to imagine that Leslie Knope personally oversaw the production of this water bottle and proudly carries one of her own with her wherever she goes. Leslie Knope is my spirit animal. || The beaded collar is from Rob's mum, who reads this blog (HI SALLY) and gave me a perfectly chipster gift. YES, my blog is finally getting me awesome free stuff. 

 

Robbie setting up our birthday picnic. || My name on a bus on my birthday! Serendipitous. 

 

Food porn! Dinner with Rob at Our Place. That honeycomb cheesecake with vanilla ice cream and lemon curd was so delicious. I am drooling right now thinking about it. 

And dinner with my mum & brother at Twelve Spices. My mother, who is not normally supportive of my alcohol consumption, bought me a lychee mojito - there is something about lychee that makes it divinely cocktail-worthy. Anyway, she only bought it for me because I learnt to ask for booze in Chinese and she was consequently very proud of me (it wasn't even covered in my classes, I specifically looked up how to say it, so now I can say "my hobby is drinking alcohol" in Mandarin, which I am sure will be a very useful phrase to me, one day).

Happy birthmonth to me, xo Jess. 

CHIPNIC BASKET

 

You might not be aware of this, fair reader, but there is a long-held blogger tradition of bragging. One might even suggest that the whole business of blogging is built on bragging. I mention this as a sort of disclaimer for this post, because I am about to gloat big time and y'all need to prepare yourselves for the approaching envy attack.

 

It was my birthday on Saturday and my mister surprised me with this picnic basket and rug set. I know, it's wonderful isn't it. Look at the belted plates! The twist clasp! The striped lining! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!



It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, so I demanded that we use my gifts immediately (I demanded a lot of things that day).

 

To wit: I demanded that we have brie with lunch. I fucking love brie. Why is it so delicious? What sorcery is this?



Rob knows me so well. He always gets me slightly unconventional gifts - like hoisery and books, and he always puts heaps of thought into them. This is seriously the most gorgeous picnic basket I've ever seen. I'm looking forward to some snuggly Autumn picnics in the coming months.

More birthday bragging to come in the next couple of days! xo

P.S. "Chipnic" - get it? God, I'm good.

AROUND THE WORLD

 

Currently, there is a very distinct "travel" theme in my room right now. I have accumulated a modest little collection of maps and travel-related decorative items. Secretly (or perhaps not so secretly), I hope that I don't get a job immediately after graduating so I can take some time off and travel the world. I never did do the whole gap year thing - I wanted to get through my five years of undergrad study as quickly as possible. But travelling is so important when you're young! Sometimes I feel a little sad knowing that I probably can't visit all the places I want to see in my lifetime.

 

This is a flight map Rob gave me of the Greater Sydney area (and beyond).

Rob also gave me this sketchbook a couple of years ago when I went on an overseas trip with my family.

This is my favourite map, it's a tea towel! When I bought it, it came with a spool of red thread and you are supposed to sew your travel path to indicate where you have been.

CHIPSTAGRAM: 28.04.12

I know right, could I get any more witty with the "chipster" puns? I think not.



I'm trying to up the reading. Thanks to my literature class, I have developed an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy and now I must read ALL the books. A magazine here and there won't hurt, especially if it's frankie. Never Let Me Go is fantastic so far, but I've had to put it down so I can actually finish my course readings.&&&& I found this Persuasion Penguin Classics mug at Typo for only $5!! Persuasion is my most favouritist Austen, so this was very exciting for me. Seen here poised upon my favourite Penguin Classics.

 

*sigh* Unfortunately, this has been my life for the past week. Typing up essays and re-reading Ivan Illyich about 10 times. Left is my current desktop which I think accurately reflects my current moodiness.
 



Left: Cocktail from a couple of weeks ago, when Rob and I had dinner at Spice I Am in Balmain. It was pretty and foamy and delicious. Right: Heart-shaped eggs for breakfast today! With tomatoes and mushrooms (I have a heart-shaped egg poacher).

 
Left: Yaay! It's almost coat season again. Err-body lookin' good in coats, yo.
Right: My outfit inspiration for the past year or so, clipped up on my mirror. I dream about this lady sometimes - I want to be her.