...and so I'm 30

It seems like yesterday that I was struggling to think of 30 things to do before turning 30. Heck, it seems like yesterday that I was a 10 year old. Where did 20 years just go?!

Anyway, I thought I'd update you all on my 30 before 30 achievements and provide an indication of those things that may have to wait and/or never happen (colour-coded for your convenience, using a traffic light system because, let's face it, I'm a nerd!). Here goes:

1. Make something crafty for the house

2. Make colourful pasta from scratch

3. Travel out of the state

4. Participate in a fun run

5. Go vegetarian for a week (including one day of veganism) - nope, this one isn't happening. I'm all about intuitive eating and listening to my body at the moment and I'm in a really good head space when it comes to food. I certainly am not messing with that! If my tummy says meat, then meat it is. 

6. Read at least one fiction book - womp, womp. Epic fail! This didn't happen, as anticipated, though I'm planning to take a light, girly read overseas with me next month. Any recommendations for this non-fiction lover? 

7. Attend a live sporting event

8. Try 5 new (to me) beers

9. Make a sweet pie from scratch (including the pastry)

10. Sew something

11. Lose 5kg

12. Spend at least one day in Daylesford

13. Do some sort of physical activity every day for one week

14. Go on a substantial day hike

15. Have a picnic

16. Completely replant one of our garden beds

17. Watch 5 movies on the IMDb Top 250 list that I've never seen - I'm currently at 4 of 5. The fifth is planned. There will be an update! 

18. Bike ride into Melbourne and back home - all the running I've been doing of late, coupled with the inconsistent winter weather has meant that I haven't found the time to go on many any bike rides. I think this one will definitely be ticked off the list in the next few months though.

19. Splurge on a fancy meal out

20. Attend a live performance of some sort

21. Donate to charity

22. Redecorate/reconfigure our "formal" lounge room to make it more usable - nope. Just didn't get around to it. Most of the boxes in here have been unpacked and the room is neat and usable; however, we haven't made it "ours" in the same way we've transformed other rooms in our house. I think this may be an ongoing project over the next few months. 

23. Learn how to decorate a cake - goal on hold until my cake-maker extraordinaire buddy has the time to fit me in. Again, there will be photographic evidence and much scoffing!

24. Cook a meal for my parents

25. Send letters or parcels to my closest friends in other countries

26. Go technology-free for 24 hours - sadly this is currently in the too hard basket. The last time I went tech-free was during a holiday to Vanuatu, where there was no TV, no phone reception and definitely no internet. It was an incredibly liberating experience, but is simply not feasible right now with work and other commitments. 

27. Buy a new handbag

28. Learn how to take really good photos with our DSLR

29. Visit a winery

30. Knit a scarf for winter - the finishing touches are happening as I type (figuratively, clearly...I don't have four hands!) and there shall be photographic evidence. 

30 before 30: #11 - lose 5kg

When I came up with my 30 before 30 list, I thought achieving my 11th goal of losing 5kgs would be the hardest of the lot. Since my knee reconstruction, I had let my eating habits get the better of me and was no longer listening to my body about what it needed in terms of energy.

I am pleased to say that I'm down over 5kgs (WOOHOO!) and would ideally like to drop another 5kg to get smack bang into the middle of my healthy range (according to BMI).

I attribute my success to two key factors:

1. Sessions with my wonderful hypnotherapist... 

...who has helped "reprogram" (for want of a better term) my habits and behaviours with respect to eating. Seriously people, get yourself a hypno. Pronto!

I'm now eating (and, for that matter, living) much more mindfully and in the moment. I find myself listening to my body and more frequently asking if I'm *really* hungry, or just reaching for the biscuit jar out of habit. More often than not, it's the latter. There are no rules or calorie restrictions - it's all about eating when I'm hungry, enjoying my food and not over-eating. You can't get any more simple than that, right?! The changes I've made are both empowering and liberating, and I'm glad to be back in a healthy and sustainable head-space when it comes to my eating habits.

2. More moving!

I am close to half way through completing the Up & Running 5k program. This is the brain child of the brilliant Shauna Reid and coach extraordinaire, Julia Jones and provides a virtual training program  for women with the goal of completing a 5km run at its conclusion. I cannot endorse the program highly enough - the support and bonding of the women involved keeps participants accountable and, on a personal level, keeps me striving for success.

Although I have run a number of 5km runs (i.e. doing the course wasn't about achieving a distance goal), my times have been extremely slow. This is unsurprising given that in the past, I've done no more than about two training runs before every fun run. However, this time I've set myself a time target that I'm working towards and have a fun run locked in in mid-August.

In between my three running sessions per week, I'm participating in work-run group fitness classes twice a week and the odd game of basketball here and there. I realise that this is a lot of activity and am very carefully monitoring my body. I expected that I'd be feeling sore and run down as a consequence of all this moving (especially through this cold winter), but instead I'm feeling energised and very healthy. Win!

As an aside, one of the coolest parts of my three weeks of regular running has been seeing the definition that is developing in my thunder thighs. They are still thunderous, but there are muscles under the thunder. Muscles, I tell you!

Anyway, enough rambling. To sum it up, I'm feeling fit, healthy and positive - a good place to be when one is about to enter their thirties, me thinks!

30 before 30: #8 - try 5 new (to me) beers

It's probably no surprise that I smashed this goal out of the ball park (is that the correct baseball parlance?). It's a truth universally acknowledged that I do like beer (Jane Austen meant to write that. True story.). I'll even go as far as to say that I prefer beer to wine. It's probably not my most feminine attribute, nor my most cultured, but heck, I'm going to embrace my inner bogan! Mind you, I particularly like matching beer with food...so perhaps said embrace should cover my inner hipster as well.

In any case, here be my five six beers:

1. Cantina Pura Cerveza (El Salvador) 

Crisp, refreshing and good value for money. Paired well with some home made Mexican grub.

2. Hitachino Nest White Ale (Japan)

Very drinkable and props for the cute bottle. Enjoyed at Estelle Bar and Kitchen.

3. Lord Nelson Brewery Pale Ale (Australia)

Very easy (too easy... ;) ) to drink - paired with some spicy Thai at Sailors Thai in Sydney.

4. Steam Rail "The Gold Digger" Golden Ale (Australia) 

Probably the least impressive of all the beers tried. At least it was shared with great friends and weather! 

5.  Mirboo Madness American Red Ale (Australia)

Limited edition. Smooth on the way down, but the aftertaste wasn't great. Value for money was also questionable. Just as well my home-made, crumbed barramundi with fresh coleslaw made up for it! 

Perhaps not the best beer, but definitely the best nails of the lot!

6. So remember how I said I smashed this goal? Yep, I tried six, not five, but six new beers. and I've left the best until last. It was so good, in fact, that I forgot to take a photo of it while drinking it...on two occasions(!!), but that's surely a good sign. 

Behold, my new favourite beer: the Alhambra Negra (Spain). Enjoyed at MoVida and at The Black Toro. 

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30 before 30: #15 - have a picnic

pic·nic  

/ˈpikˌnik/

Noun: an outing or occasion that involves taking a packed meal to be eaten outdoors.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't *technically* an outing and maybe it didn't *technically* commemorate an occasion.

But in my books, breakfast may as well be an occasion (a fairly regular one at that!) and when the view from your backyard with winter sun streaming through is this pretty, I'm calling it a picnic. So is she.

Consider  #15 complete!

30 before 30: #21 & #25

I've lumped these two 30 before 30 goals together, because, let's face it, they are not inherently interesting to read about. However, I can report that I have both donated to charity and sent goodies abroad.

The former was accomplished through a fun run earlier in the year - the Mother's Day Classic to be precise. I was initially entered in the 4k walk with a girlfriend, but bumped into the 4k run after she pulled out a few days prior, due to a medical issue. As a result, my beloved accompanied me (thanks to Start to Finish for allowing the late change!) and we enjoyed a rather nice waddle around Melbourne's Botanic Gardens.

I have to say, in the scheme of fun runs, this one seemed a tad disorganised and frenetic, probably owing to the size of the turnout (over 130,000 across 74 locations). In any case, I was glad that my registration fee went, in its entirety, to cancer research. I'm constantly astounded at the number of events that do not donate a penny of the entry costs to charity.

With regard to my goal of sending letters/parcels to my nearest and dearest abroad, I'm pleased to report that I've sent three of my OS besties wee parcels over the last few months.

The first, who has just given birth to a gorgeous baby girl in Japan, received a stripey ensemble, complete with matching shoes (because, let's face it, baby shoes are probably the cutest thing ever invented!). Want to know what's even more exciting? In around 2.5 months we'll be seeing said outfit again in person - that's right, we're off to Japan!!

These are some pictures from our time in Japan over 5 years ago...ahhh memories!

The second, a close girlfriend in London, received a big bunch of flowers for her 30th birthday.

Thirdly, my non-biological German "mum" has been sent a beautiful, locally designed and woven scarf (below) for her 70th birthday. As an aside, you can check out my very talented friend and weaver's Etsy store here.

So, eleven of my thirty goals remain, with only a few weeks of the challenge to go. Can I do it?

30 before 30: #29 - visit a winery

Escaping to the Yarra Valley (one of Australia's premier wine regions for those who aren't local) for a day or more is something I often think about, but rarely do. Silly really, because the trip there takes little more than  45 minutes. More importantly though, there's something about those rolling hills and perfectly straight lines of vines that has an instant relaxing effect (my beloved likes to think it's my rather OCD need for symmetry. I prefer to think that it's because I'm getting closer to nature...whatevs!).

Fellow blogger, Miss C and I decided to head to the region with our obliging other halves at rather late notice on the weekend. I was delighted to learn that the Yarra Valley Farmers' Market coincided with our visit. Yering Station is a very picturesque location for such a market and the produce did not disappoint - beautiful cheeses, breads, meat, fresh produce and lots of ready-made things to sample and buy.

After a market wander and cup of coffee, we made our way over to Zonzo - the main event for the day. We were seated right in front of the roaring fire, complete with bovine adornment.

A bottle of Sangiovese came as we admired the view of gnarled vines outside, complemented beautifully by the rustic, but elegant interior decor. 

We opted to share all dishes and started with a couple of deep fried morsels.

Arancini    15

Carciofi Fritti (crumbed artichoke hearts drizzled with vincotto)    13

Both starters were excellent - crunchy and comforting. However, the real stand out of the day for me was the pizza. This was the best pizza I've eaten in a very long time. Maybe even since Italy!

L-R: Pizza con Melanzane; Pizza con Porcini; Pizza con Bresaola    23 each

The base was thin and a perfect balance of crispy, but maintained that requisite chewy "thang" that all good pizza must have.

My personal favourite was the Pizza con Bresaola (nearest below), which was topped with slightly salty, finely sliced Wagyu, basil, buffalo mozzarella and olive oil.

Because no dinner lunch is complete without dessert and I have a deep passion for all things ricotta (I swear, my love affair with the stuff knows no bounds!) a ricotta calzone was ordered.

Calzone alla Ricotta (foreground); Calzone alla Fragola (background)    14

After early morning wine tasting, followed by a bottle of wine, it was clearly time to slip next door to Train Track winery and get stuck into a bit more vino, right?! When in the Yarra Valley...

All in all, a fantastic day out with even better friends. Zonzo: we will be returning!

30 before 30: #1 and #10 - the crafty seamstress

There are some rather ill-conceived goals on my pre-thirty bucket list. Number 1 and number 10, for example, both have substantial overlap and, while I know that months ago I had lofty ambitions of completing these exclusively, I am now lumping them together and calling it success. Some would call it lazy, others a study in efficiency...

In any case, I'll start this post by letting you in on a secret. I'm a pretty poor seamstress. I was never taught how to sew or use a sewing machine at school, nor did I have a mother or even grandmother who sewed. Knitting, yes; but never sewing. However, I love most crafty-type activities. To me they're like a form of therapy - a way to escape and immerse myself in my thoughts and some quiet time. Based on this logic, a couple of years back I purchased a sewing machine, with grand ambitions of cladding myself in all sorts of fabric awesome. 

I made a delightful wrap skirt and a vaguely acceptable pair of pajama bottoms, but my sewing career came to a screeching halt when I went all out and attempted a maxi dress that made me appear seven months pregnant (I'm not exaggerating at all here!). It's not that I made a conscious decision to give up, but my *epic fail*, coupled with a bunch of other goings-on rendered my time very limited, and so I put the sewing machine to rest for a little while.

Now that time is a little freer (post-MBA completion - huzzah!), I made a decision to dust off the white plastic lump that is my sewing machine and make something I can't mess up - cushions. A trip to Ikea was first required in order to procure the cushion insert and, while there, I discovered that Ikea is a one-stop-shop for pillow-making, as they boast a pretty funky range of fabrics. I opted for a grey print, hoping that a neutral pallet would mean that any flaws wouldn't be as obvious, and $25 later we were on our way (and yes, I understand that I could have simply purchased two ready-made cushions from Ikea for this price, but where's the fun in that?!). 

After a wee bit of fabric pressing and measuring, it was time to get my sew on - a bit of machine work, followed by some hand sewing. I'm pretty happy with the outcome, especially given my disaster maxi of 2011!

At least one of the cushions is actually destined for our replica George Nelson Coconut Chair, which is being made somewhere in the world as we speak. I think it'll look pretty swell...

Overall, not *sew* bad, right?!

30 before 30: #27 - buy a new handbag

Buying a handbag is not an easy quest for yours truly. While I have a strong, unyielding passion for shoes, bags just don't get the juices flowing in quite the same way. Moreover, I'm particularly fussy about the need for a bag to sit across my body (the hands-free option) at an appropriate point (on my left hip more specifically - no easy feat at 177-8cms!). The item must also be good quality, soft leather and made somewhere where it is not likely that people were used/abused in the process of its creation. A tough list to satisfy, right?!

It took a few months of searching, but I finally found what has proven to be possibly my favourite handbag ever.

It's made by NAT & NIN, a company founded in France by sisters who shared a passion for leather goods. Some of their range is available at Morrison stores in Australia. For the quality and place of origin (Italian leather, made in France), they're extremely reasonably priced, in my opinion.

A couple of months since purchasing and I'm still as in love with this incredibly functional, soft, pretty handbag as I was the day it was purchased - it's definitely a favourite item that I know will get worn until it's hanging in shreds over my shoulder!

30 before 30: #12 - spend time in Daylesford

Howdy bloggerinos. I may have taken a short spell of absence from the blogging world, but fear not, I have been slowly but surely working my way through my 30 before 30 list (only roughly a month to go - eeek!).

A few weeks ago, my beloved and I headed off to our favourite part of regional Victoria - Daylesford (and surrounds). We love this part of the world so much, that a year prior, decided to get married there. It seemed fitting that one year on we would return to celebrate the anniversary of this momentous occasion.

Our eatery of choice for a relaxed Sunday lunch was Mercato @ Daylesford - a contemporary, yet homely eatery only a short walk down the street from Daylesford's weekly Sunday market. We were early to arrive and snapped some pictures of an empty restaurant, which very quickly filled.

The meal was, without a doubt, one of the best I've had all year. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Eye fillet of aged Kyneton Black Angus beef, sauteed mushrooms, kale, horseradish infused potato puree, caramelised shallots, cabernet sauce       42.50

Roasted breast of duck, truffle polenta, Swiss chard, pear salad, red currant jus     39.50

Roasted Brussels spouts, crisp Istra pancetta, hazelnuts      8.50

To round out the meal, we couldn't go past a date pudding, made all the more irresistible by the idea of ginger beer sorbet. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the combination of flavours in this dessert may be as close as I'm ever going to get to dessert Nirvana. My only regret? That I didn't insist on one of these all for myself!

Steamed date pudding, ginger beer sorbet, apple, salted caramel sauce      16.50

Suffice it to say: YUM!

After our delicious lunch we drove to Lake Daylesford and waddled our way around the Lake.

Now that we've done it twice, I'm going to proclaim that this walk is now an annual tradition. We even stopped on our way round (as we had a year prior) to take some shots of our favourite tree (oh yes, we have a favourite tree...we are *that* couple).

It gained preferred status, due to the rainbow of autumnal colours it bore on our wedding day. It was mainly a cherry colour all over this year, but still very pretty.

All up, a wonderful lunch and an even better husband. I'm one lucky gal!

30 before 30: #13 - do some sort of physical activity every day for a week

Most of my 30 before 30 challenges are fun, achievable goals. Some are less achievable and some are less fun. My latest accomplishment probably falls into the latter category. It started off as fun, but ended with the need for a massage and a pretty shattered body.

My goal to exercise every day for a week started strongly with the inaugural Melbourne Glow Run (which I posted about here). This activity was followed by a day spent doing quite intensive work in our garden in preparation for Winter (I'm claiming it as exercise irrespective of what anyone says!).

Days three and four comprised a 3.5km run and a 1.5km run followed by an intense strength session respectively.

Day five was when the pain *really* kicked in. I was required to do some fitness testing for a bootcamp-like program in which I participate twice a week (it's kinda like a bootcamp with very malleable, nice instructors). The testing comprised the dreaded beep test, some timed suicides, flexibility testing, max push-ups, planks etc. You know, the usual array of torture...

Although I knew that I had really improved in my fitness over the last couple of months, my body was so utterly wrecked from its five-day slamming that it just shut down and my results did not reflect any improvement. My calves cramped well before I could attain a strong (for me) beep test result and my upper body couldn't handle any of the tests - I think I held my plank for less than a minute(!) - I just gave up. I was pretty devastated and frustrated by the whole experience. On the plus side, my flexibility continues to be well above most of my teammates (yay for years of dancing when I was much younger and much more slender!).

The last two days of exercise were less intense. A couple of shorter walks and a remedial massage to end the week, complete with dry needling (which made a serious difference, might I add).

So, what did I learn? Well this:

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...and also that this sort of goal is probably not conducive to my wellbeing...unless my plan is to limit my ability to walk post 30! I think recovery and rest is so important for my health and is rendered even more so by the fact that only 19 months ago my left ACL was reconstructed. I think that at most, a couple of days "on", with at least one rest day is ideal for my lifestyle/body. Whether I can stick to such an activity schedule as the weather gets cooler is another matter altogether though....

30 before 30: #24 - make a meal for my parents

Can you believe that I managed to strike two more 30 before 30 goals off my list last week and not manage to take a single photo of my accomplishments?! Terrible, I know.

Because of the lack of pictures, you're just going to have to believe me when I tell you that I cooked a pretty delish meal for the "parentals" - my first crack at *filled* pasta from scratch. Basically, I used my colourful pasta dough approach for the pasta, but instead of spinach, used heaps of basil picked straight from our garden. For the stuffing, I used fresh ricotta, button mushrooms and spinach and seasoned to taste. Our nifty little ravioli press (which looks pretty similar to the device below), rendered the creation of these delicious morsels extremely easy.

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The filled pasta was topped with a simple sauce of olive oil, garlic, a handful of sun dried tomatoes, a punnet of kumatos, fresh chili and some more basil from the back yard. All in all, I was impressed not only at my ability to make a dish I've always assigned to the too-hard-basket, but also at how simple making ravioli really is. I wouldn't recommend making stuffed pasta varieties for a first-time pasta maker, but after a couple of attempts, it's not a very big leap to move to the filled variety. 

The parentals seemed to be impressed. The fatherland was more reserved with his opinion (my guess is because of the absence of meat). The mothership, on the other hand, was effusive with her praise, insisting that I make the meal for her again. My beloved now wants stuffed pasta every night. Carb loading much? 

30 before 30: #20 - attend a live performance

My 30 before 30 goal of attending a live performance was smashed out of the ball park earlier in the month. And it's probably not hard to work out why. The Melbourne International Comedy festival (the third largest laughfest in the world) lights up the faces of Melburnians each April and there truly is an array of talent to choose from.

In a previous life (when I worked in the thick of the CBD), I would try to attend at least two shows per week. Now that a commute is required, I'm more strategic about my show choices. This year, I managed to get to three performances:

• Hannah Gadsby
• Tom Gleeson
• Mark Butler

Hannah's was an outstanding show. Indeed, a better stand-up gig I have never seen. She connected with her audience on an emotional level. Her show was poignant, funny and offered great flow and narrative, which is often not achieved at stand-up gigs. I believe my comment to our friends as we left her show was something along the lines of: "I think we've just witnessed comedy nirvana". Her 5-star reviews were certainly deserved.

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Tom's show was predictably good. The guy is in his element on stage with a microphone in hand. He handles hecklers with aplomb and a very sharp tongue. His suggestion of inserting a "porn nugget" in lieu of the copyright warning at the start of DVDs still makes me giggle. A solid show indeed.

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Our final show of the festival was also excellent. Lesser known performer, Mark, is a thinking man's comedian. His show was witty, well-scripted and engaging. It was full of puns, wordplays and general etymological gold.

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So, in the words of Borat, this year's MICF was, in my opinion: 

30 before 30: #4 - participate in a fun run

After my "un-fun fun run" earlier in the year I resolved that fun run redemption was required. I wanted my next group run to be in a totally pressure-free, enjoyable environment...so, when I saw a newsletter advertising the inaugural Melbourne Glow Run, I knew it was meant to be.

This race was exactly what I needed. There were no timing devices, lots of ridiculous glow-in-the-dark paraphernalia and fantastic DJs pumping out music at around half a dozen spots on the 5k course. The atmosphere was absolutely buzzing and, despite the crisp temperature, people kept warm by boogieing by the main stage. The average age of the crowd was slightly younger than a typical group run, where most people seem to be about my age (read: late 20s, early 30s) - I guess the prospect of being in the city late while listening to loud clubbing music appealed to the underage crowd.

It was just as well the run wasn't timed, because there were some issues in the first kilometre, where the trail narrowed (under the Swan St bridge) and created a real bottleneck, slowing everyone to a walk for about 50 metres. It didn't matter though - people weren't at this run to PB - they were there to chase down the party!

I personally felt great throughout the run and, with the exception of the aforementioned spot of walking, managed to jog the entire way at a comfortable pace. In fact, with hindsight, I realise I was so conservative in my efforts that I didn't really get puffed at any stage of the run and could have definitely pushed a bit harder.

The Garmin said we finished in about 35 minutes. I'm pretty stoked with this given a) how comfortable I felt; and b) the fact that we stopped and boogied momentarily at each of the DJ tents on the course. It was also the first time that my beloved has run a 5km event and I'm so very proud of him!

This event has definitely spurred me on to participate in more runs throughout this year. There's something about the buzz of a group run that is definitely motivating and inspiring and each time I find myself in a pack of runners, I can't help but feel blessed - thankful that my body can carry me over distances and thankful that I live somewhere where running is a pleasure and not a means of survival.

Of course, no run is complete without pizza and I'm pleased to report that after completing the event, we left the dancers dancing and headed to our favourite local pizza joint for a good carb-fat fix.
A great night on all fronts!

30 before 30: #28 and #14

This post ticks off two of my 30 before 30 goals:
#14 - go on a substantial day hike
#28 - learn how to take really good photos with our DSLR

We spent our Easter break in Australia's beautiful red centre. During our time in the desert, we enjoyed two long-ish hikes, as well as a number of shorter walks.

The first of our two longer walks was through Kata Tjuta (or the Olgas). Known as the Valley of the Winds walk, the track took us to what felt like very secluded and peaceful parts of this beautiful rock foundation. We were lucky to be in Central Australia for a rare rainy period and, although the rain prevented us from doing a third walk (the Uluru base walk), we were able to experience some exquisitely lush scenery...in the middle of the desert.

Our second long walk was the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. This was done as part of a group tour. While it was a fun day, group tours aren't really our kettle of fish (we were given virtually no choice if we wanted to see Kings Canyon, as the car hire company placed such tight kilometer restrictions on their vehicles). We did manage to catch about 10 minutes of alone time to reflect on the beauty surrounding us...and eat chocolate (naturally!).

With respect to the 28th goal on my list - learn how to take really good photos with our DSLR - I'll let you be the judge.

Yes, they're no where near outstanding, but are definitely good enough for me!