After more than 5 years in Sydney, no matter how much I try and despite the highest intention of wanting to be a true Ozie, to the local eyes I will and always be a tourist. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I believe it has something to do with what I usually do with my spare time. It sort of spoils my intentions…

Take this weekend for example… Did you know that you could spend a night over in Cockatoo Island? Well, you can. It is the easiest thing, it’s fun, cheap and give you the chance to relax and enjoy one of the heritage precincts in the Sydney Harbour. How does it work? There are several options, depending on your budget. You can rent a beautiful house, which is great especially for families or groups of friends, hire one of the tents in the camp ground (they have beds, chairs, sleeping bags, everything you need) or bring your own and sleep in designated areas. We went for the last option (ours was just underneath the tower on the right, cool!), and with only $56 we experienced a night on the island. Then we played tennis, of course had a BBQ, and relaxed with great music and a very tasty cocktail in the new Island Bar (open only in summer) overlooking the Harbour Bridge. Simply perfect!

Of course on top of all this, you can walk around old buildings, discover what happened since the establishment, have a luscious breakfast with coffee and cake or just lay on the grass to read a good book … one of the best weekend I had in Sydney so far. Well, if weather had the decency to be acceptable it would have been even better. Not to worry, we’ll be back for more!

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There is one little project I have been working on since around May last year and I haven’t talked much about… On top of my full time job, I assisted a lovely girl to organise her wedding. Now please don’t picture me with microphones, tools straps under my jacket, running schedules to the minutes and Prada shoes… That’s not really me.

Organising a wedding is a fantastic experience, it gives you the chance to work with extremely talented and passionate professional, but it’s hard work, and on top of the long weeks of preparations, on the day I was on my feet for approximately 16 hours, running around, moving furniture, organising tables, flowers, church, making sure everything was perfect and most of all, that everyone was having a wonderful time.

I believe it was a great success, both guests and bridal party had a blast and I am sure they won’t easily forget. Which in the end is what really matters, right?  There are few lessons I learnt along the way… things would be good to remind myself for the next wedding.

First of all what I believe is beautiful, is not necessary the rule for all. Everyone has a very personal taste, and you can suggest, recommend, but don’t push too much because at the very last minute, they won’t like it.

Having contacts is essential, but building good relationships is even more. Wedding industry unfortunately means that everything is more expensive that it normally is, and there are extra charges jumping out at every corner. I believe going for small boutique businesses is the way, having a personal relationship with individuals rather than large organisations is fantastic on both professional and personal level and everyone can only benefit from this.

Make sure to drink plenty of water and eat something throughout the day… if you faint, you’re not very useful to anyone! (I didn’t faint, but the first glass of water was at 6pm, and the first bite at 8.30pm… in my defence, I was running all day and couldn’t stop. Ok, no excuse… I promise, next time I will drink lots of water!)

And last, wear comfortable shoes on the wedding day and then get changed just before reception starts. If you try to look nice and presentable whilst doing all the hard work, you will end up with blown up feet, a terrible backache and some serious difficulties to walk around by the end of the night. So no, no Prada shoes… snickers are much much better!

A full reportage as soon as I get pics from the bride, in the meantime this is a sneak peak from my mobile… the beautiful work by The Style Salon. Much much more to come…

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So here we are… another year has gone, another one just started. What can we dream of for the next 365 days? Well, few things, but I am going to steal the lovely idea my friend Deb had, and I am going to list them here. You know how much I love lists… this is going to be just one of the million I am going to make this year.

1. SPEND more time with people I love
2. THINK less and do more. In particular, do more things I love and don’t care about what others think
3. COMPLETE one big project (and let you all know about it!) on top of writing this cute little blog
4. ENJOY the simple things
5. SUPPORT someone that cannot make it on its own
6. STRESS less (maybe some Yoga and meditation will help with this!)
7. STOP hitting on chocolate every time something doesn’t go as planned
8. RUN the City to Surf in less than 90′  (this is gonna be tough, you should know that I don’t particularly enjoy running!)
9. PHOTOGRAPH my whereabouts. It is a beautiful way to remember and appreciate more what we see in our everyday life
10. SMILE more and be contagious as much as I can!

These are my 10 starting point. I have millions of things I would love to do, achieve, talk about… and I want this year to be the most productive, happy, colourful year ever!
And you, what is your list for this exciting 2011?

Lots of Love,

Lilac x

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