this is... how I like to spend my weekend...

What a great theme for this weekend, because this weekend has been one of the best ever!!!
It all started on friday night... my darling man picked me up in a swish comfy car (one he's looking after for a customer) & took me to dinner at Rumi in brunswick east. We had the most delicious dinner, labne, olives & pickles to start... followed up with cheese filled pastry cigars & a dish of cauliflower with currants... & then for a bit more, we had king prawns cooked in a tamarind & tomato sauce with a rice pilaf that had barberries & pistacios through it... Yummo!

Rumi. 132 Lygon St Brunswick East

Then Saturday morning I tottled off to meet my dear friend emma for an inspiring, crafty day. We started off at artisan books on gertrude st, where we perused the artists books on exhibit. I also purchased 5 Keith Smith books to build my binding knowledge library.

And... I discovered this little gem of a book pictured below. It's by a melbourne graphic designer, called Marc Martin. Such a lovely story it is & too cheap at only 15 dollars.
Off we then went, with a walk through the park to the state library where we had a delighful breakfast of porridge & pancakes at Mr Tulk. After filling our tummies, our trail led us into the library to a secret stash of more artists books. We sat and leafed through them all, taking notes as we went. Commenting on techniques & styles used & what we did & did not like about each one.
So on leaving the library, a little window shopping was in order. Boots at Zomp, magazines at borders, melissa shoes at obus. Sugar levels were low by this stage & we had to stop & refuel our shaking bodies. So we stopped at journal to share caprese salad & a baguette & perhaps 2 portugese tarts were eaten too.
Up the street we carried on, to Craft Victoria. A look at the in the making exhibition was in order. I also joined emma in buying a ticket to an lecture day at the museum, on how to turn your craft into a business. The speakers for this day are all people doing their thing in melbourne & making a success out of it, so inspiring it shall be.
Today has been good too. We had brunch with the mother in law this morning & I asked here to make my wedding dress. She was delighted of course, & we chatted away about ideas.
Then I decided it would be a grand idea idea to pop into Tarlo & Graham... & I tell you now, I'm mighty glad I did. For as I walked through, my eyes scouting about, I discovered the most magnificent antique bookpress! I hurried to the counter & lay my money down. This beautiful creature just had to be mine. So he is on layby & I look forward to the day when he sits proudly on my shelf, ready to im-press. Hee hee, I just couldn't resist.
So anyway... this Kitty is mighty stoked about her little business & her contented life & her most joyous love. Aaaaand, to top it all off... the dear boy has a suprise planned for next weekend. He has his lips firmly sealed, however he has let it slip that we're leaving town for a few days. I'm so excited & I do feel rather spoilt. I shall let you know all about it when it is revealed.