The view up the river at sunset from the Victoria Bridge, with the Kurilpa Bridge in the distance.
I spent most of this weekend just gone in the city. I LOVE Brisbane – it’s my home city, and a more wonderful city I don’t think I’ve ever found.
The flying artwork suspended near the Brisbane Art Gallery
Yes, I know – I’ve been to some of the world’s most awesome cities – New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles, San Fransisco… but nothing ever quite feels like home, does it?
I just adore the river, the Queen Street Mall (the heart of the city), Southbank, the Cultural Precinct. And just the vibe of the place, you know?
My weekend in the city kicked off on Friday evening with the second talk in the 3-part series on creative business I’m giving at the Brisbane Square Library.
Me lecturing… photo by @paper_gazer on Instagram
Evening view out of the conference room in the Brisbane Square Library – overlooking Southbank and the Brisbane Eye. Photo by @michellepujol on Instagram.
I love speaking at BSL – such an awesome venue! Thanks so much to all the lovely crafty biz peeps who came along and asked me such ace questions. I hope you found it useful!
Saturday – and it was time for the BrisStyle Eco Bazaar!
I thought it was a good opportunity to try to let go of some of my (rather large, ahem) vintage dress collection…
Jess with her vintage dress stash – Vintette!
Photo of some of my vintage dresses. By @littlecore on Instagram.
Close-up of some of the dresses I had up for sale. Photo by @BrisStyle on Instagram.
It was hard to part with some of my treasures – seeing my dresses on other people when they tried them on, I started thinking maybe I had made a mistake!
But many dresses found their way to a new home – I’m sure they’ll be worn and loved for years to come.
Oh – I need your help here, too! I sold the light blue dress above – the one with the white flower embroidery – to a lovely lady who said she found me on Instagram. I’ve since realised that I actually have the matching belt to that dress here at home! I had forgotten it had the belt, and found it today. So, lovely lady – if you read this, PLEASE get in touch so I can send you the belt and re-unite it with its dress home!
I also managed to visit with some of my market neighbours, and make a few purchases…
First, I fell in love with this genuine Japanese kimono that my friend Mel of Kimono Reincarnate had for sale. It is now MINE!! I’ve decided it will be my new summer robe. Quite a step up from the previous one, let me tell you.
Wearing my new kimono!
I also couldn’t pass up this super-cute mug by Belinda Stanton. I have a little bit of a handmade mug collection happening, and I had to add this to it. I had my coffee in it today, and it was PERFECT! Love the shape – nice and hard to knock over, too ;D
Super-cute handmade mug! Rain! Cloud!
Also, I couldn’t resist a cuddle with this adorable bunny from Core – Damara was my neighbour, and chatting to her made the 6 hours fly by! Thanks for being an ace market buddy, Dem 🙂
Cuddling super-cute Core bunny…
The rest of Saturday was hanging-out-with-friends time. Two of our best mates live on the 58th floor right in the middle of the city – I love the view out over the Story Bridge (my FAVOURITE Brisbane bridge).
The view over the Story Bridge out to the Bay in Brisbane.
I also went out to dinner with some friends at Southbank – we got to check out some of the light installations there at the moment as part of Brisbane Festival. We also saw Deni Hines performing – looking and sounding as amazing as ever.
A light installation at Southbank – part of Brisbane Festival #bnefest
Finally – Sunday morning called for a city breakfast – so we went to FATboys Cafe at Rics Bar – and had THE BEST big breakfast. Highly recommended if you’re ever in The Valley of a morning.
Breakfast in The Valley, Brisbane
After that, alas, it was back home to work the rest of Sunday away.
As much as I love living out here in the country, there is something I always find invigorating about visiting the city.
Maybe it’s just a change of scene. Maybe it’s the crush of people I never get out here at home. Maybe it’s the noise, the buildings, the lights… whatever it is, I know I’m a happy girl when I get a monthly dose of it.
Even a country girl needs a little dose of city now and again.
{All photos in this post from my Instagram feed unless otherwise credited}