lucky me

so i was just talking with a friend via text message. he asked me what id been up to all day.
i replied: "nothing much. went for a surf. ran on the beach. pretty standard."

and he said: "it's so cool how you make going surfing sound average..."

i guess i sometimes forget how amazing it is that i am able to wake up almost every day and go surfing. this is something i should never ever forget.

pretty pictures lalala

there may not have been any surf this day, but gosh was it ever pretty...

lets go away for a while, you and I, to a strange and distant place

I love days that remind me how lucky I am.

This Wednesday me and Yogi and a couple of guys from work loaded up Yog's wagon with snacks and surfboards and drove down to Iluka to spend the day surfing and basking in the joy of not having to work!

We started the day out at the Iluka wall where we met up with my housemates Kat and Sunny for a morning surf. Sunny was the only one who was actually able to pull into the thick, fast barrels. Though I did give it a shot a couple of times, at least until I gave myself a black eye (pictured below) which led to me spending my remaining time out on the water floating around like a buoy with a dear-caught-in-headlights look.

After our surf we grabbed some fresh seafood at a local marina. I am not the biggest fan of fish and chips but according to everyone else in my group they were top-notch.

Because only myself and Markus paddled out at the first spot, we decided to try another break that was a little bit more on the fun side. We settled on Frasers Reef where there was a nice little beach break and only a couple of other people out. This spot was decidedly more surfable and we were all able to put ourselves into some super-fun waves.

We finished the day off with delicious tacos and a couple of s shared under the stars with a bonfire at my new house beside the ocean.

All in all a top-notch day! And a defnite reminder of how lucky I am to have the friends I do and live where I am.

black eyes are bad@$#

I do not want to admit how I actually got this black eye, suffice to say that it is a result of a surfing incident. Lets just say I was doing something super cool.

Ouch.

Though I must admit it does make me look kind of tough. No?

knitknitknit

knitknitknit. all day long. knitknitknit while i sing this song.
gonna knit a scarf. gonna make it long.
gonna knitknitknit while i sing this song.

no waves to be found anywhere today. took the camera out for a minor but was feeling rather uninspired due to the rain and winds.

me and kat went for a tour around the arts and industrial and found some amazing shops. a few places worth mention:

Spell- gorgeous jewelery handmade right out in the back of the shop. the necklaces they make are unreal. so original.

Goddess of Babylon- some of the best leather bags and boots to be found. they make the kind of pieces you can wear with jeans and a plain white tee and feel dressed up.

NCS- home of my all-time favourite fish and long boards. they produce Takayama and Bear surfboards. Evan, the guy who works the store front, is the most patient man on the planet. i make a weekly visit to the store to stare at the boards and bring friends around to see the place.i am also secretly hoping they will eventually offer me a job. i also just love the smell of a new board. mmmmm...epoxy....

Byron Bay Gourmet Pies- you can go directly to their factory and get fresh out of the oven pies for only $3! plus all the stores around them smell like pie. mmmmmm...pie...

i always find it refreshing to be around others who are creative. especially when i am feeling uninspired myself. kat and i dropped in on our amazingly talented friend Yogesha (aka Yoshimitsu aka Mixmaster Yogs aka Woogie aka Bear) who works behind the spell shop as a seamstress. homegirl has talent coming out the yingyang. i think ill just start going out to her studio and hanging out to soak up the positive vibes and unique energy.

anywho...im feeling newly inspired and invigorated to create something new. with the help of my new roommate Kat.

peace and rainbows!

eating is not a sport

I seriously need to remind myself of this fact: eating is not a sport.

Last night I had some of my amazing, hilarious, gorgeous friends over to my house for my birthday. Because I am 26 going on 12, I had a make-your-own-pizza party. And make pizza we did. Eight pizzas to be exact. BBQ chicken, supreme, greek, ginger-chicken with pineapple, pumpkin and rocket with feta...mmmm...
I had strategically located my seat directly beside the table with all of the food on it. My prime seating allowed me to sample each new pizza as it came out of the oven, plus eat all of the various snacks dispersed across the table.
As it would also turn out, I have found a kindred soul in Miss Katherine Stobs-Stobart. Kat can eat, and I say this with the utmost respect, even more than I can. She may even think about food more than I do.

As a result of Kat's encouragement, I ate what may equate to an entire family-sized pizza. As did Kat.

It is times like these I must remind myself again that eating is not a sport. I am now spending my first official day as a 26 year-old nursing a massive food hangover.

***though to be honest I am just waiting for my stomach to settle so I can start eating some of the leftovers I brought with me to work***

ahem

It is a longstanding fact known throughout my circle of family and friends that no one is to touch any of my magazines until I have first been through them from cover to cover.

This is especially true when I have new Surfing World and Monster Children. I seriously wait for each new issue to be released from the minute I am finished the current one. Both mags are not only chalked-full of amazing stories, but they also contain beautiful pictures, a unique approach to layout and design, pieces from a variety of contributors, and information about everything from music and art to travel to the best creams for rashburns.

I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of my new Surfing World since they released the topic on their blog- The Design Issue. Totally worth the wait.

I am currently obsessed with board design. I swear I remember people in the water by what kind of board they are on...and I notice someones' surfboard before I notice anything else about them. Honestly though, a surfers' quiver does say a lot about them.

The issue delves into issues of environmental board creation, the evolution of design, the origin of the twin-fin, and even has some non-shapers tackle the art of creating their own board. I loved everything about the issue- it was only missing a few things in my opinion: some mention of more up-and-coming shapers and some exploration into what both some well-known pro and free surfers are riding. I would love to know who the next generation of shapers are and what they are currently doing with design. I also would have loved to have a glimpse into the quiver of some shapers and surfers. Hear what they love to ride in certain conditions and what they are experimenting with at the moment. I also would have mentioned Al Emery.

As all of my readers know I H-E-A-R-T my new Emery board. I have never surfed a board that I actually felt a noticeable difference in my surfing before I started surfing my new Emery shortboard. Not only is the board capable of catching even the smallest and sloppiest of waves, it also still allows me to make quick turns because of the narrowness of the fishtail design. The rails are softer and a little thicker than my last board, which I find to be much more forgiving on my turns, while still allowing me a lot of maneuverability. It paddles amazingly and looks great too. No jokes, it's a magnet. I am constantly having people come up to ask me about how it goes. And I swear I am becoming a better surfer since I started riding it. Emery is THE designer to watch in my opinion.

Not only has one of his riders, Adam Melling, been added to the WCT this year, but another one of his surfers, Stuart Kennedy, has been tearing it up on the WQS. Both Lennox Head locals have been tearing it up in recent competitions and are definitely worth keeping your eye on. I met Al the other day when I took my friend Marcus out to his shop to pick up a board. I think I freaked him out when I literally gushed to him about how much I like his boards and how his riders are amazing and how my surfing has changed since riding it. He was slowly backing away from me into the safety of his shaping den before I could beg him for a job or to watch him shape a board or add me to his team...anywho...

check out his website:
http://www.emerysurfboards.com/

some might say

you can spend all day being mad at a certain friend who is trying to move in on your territory, spreading lies and making vicious allegations about you.

but then she goes and puts on a magical show on the karaoke machine and you can no longer harbour those feelings of anger.
some might say miss yogesha has the voice of our generation. and the stage presence of the next michael buble. i would be inclined to agree with this.

yogi has totally redeemed herself in my eyes on the karaoke machine. well played mix. well played.

in a strange twist of fate

i think i jinxed myself.

i went to start my car this morning and she wouldnt start.

yar. looks like simba needs a new battery. but who has money for new headlights and batteries when i have a surfboard to buy?

being responsible (to a small degree) sucks.

i believe this video speaks for itself