ITEM #40: KITCHENWARE – Chopsticks

My boyfriend J and I received these two pairs of chopsticks from a Ryokan in Kyoto in 2004. When you receive a gift from an accommodation venue it is a good indication that you’re paying too much!

You’ll notice that the red chopsticks are smaller than the black ones. That’s because the red ones are meant to be for a woman. Not sure if it’s because they’re supposed to have smaller hands or because they are more subservient than men… they do the same thing in Japan with a pair of tea cups.

These have never been used. Maybe because I always set the table and I don’t want J to think he has bigger hands than me.

SOLD! ITEM #39: BOOKS – Several by Jane Austen

Books include:

• Sense and Sensibility
• Pride and Prejudice
• Persuasion
• Emma
• Northanger Abbey
• Mansfield Park (not photographed)

Pride and Prejudice is my all time favourite book. It’s probably quite daggy to say this… but who can resist a book that starts “It is truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”… To me, Darcy is one of the best characters I’ve ever read. Don’t let Chasers War On Everything stop you from loving Darcy.

The other books are enjoyable too… but Pride & Prejudice is still the best.

SOLD! ITEM #38: BOOK – Four Blondes by Candice Bushnell

From the author of Sex and the City… that’s all I had to know before I wanted to read this book.

The blurb says “with its uncensored observations of the mating rituals of Manhattan’s elite, Candice Bushnell’s Sex and the City created a sensation. Now, with Four Blondes, Bushnell triumphantly returns to the playgrounds of the beautiful and powerful – once again capturing the essence of our era, like no other writing…

So judging by this… she’s just resting on her reputation. But from memory, it was an enjoyable read – chick lit… nothing too mind enhancing or mind numbing.

This will be a good book to read before the Sex and the City movie comes out.

ITEM #37: VASE– Pottery vase from Malaysia

My boyfriend J’s Mum gave this to me and it has never housed flowers. It currently sits on our windowsill near our front door and in the kitchen.

This is the kind of thing that made me want to start this blog. It could be so much more well used and more loved in someone else’s home. If only I could find that home for it!

ITEM #36: BOOK – Raise high the roof beam, carpenters by J D Salinger

I bought this book after reading Catcher in the Rye, but I could never get into this one. It may have been a little too American for me. I’m not sure…

I have always had the intention of going back to read it, but after at least 10 years on the book shelf I think it might be time for someone else to try first!

J D Salinger is one of those authors that you could name drop into conversation (if that’s your thing) and he’s probably the reason that people started naming their little girls Zoe.

ITEM #35: KITCHEN ITEM – ice cube tray

My freeze comes with built in ice cube trays so I don’t really use this. My freezer is also so packed with food from my Mum as well as old bread that I can’t really fit it in now.

So many cookbooks suggest that you freeze things like lime juice, lemon juice, tomato paste, pesto etc in ice cube trays so that you can use them at a later date, but I always finish my pesto in record speed (on toast using the bread from the freezer!), I like to drink my fresh lime and lemon juice with water and I don’t make my own tomato paste. Someone also recently suggested freezing passionfruit (my favourite fruit) but, like pesto, that is for consumption straight away in my household!

SOLD! ITEM #34: BOOKS – Griffin & Sabine series by Nick Bantock

I bought these books slowly while I was still in high school. I really treasured these books and I leant these to lots of people telling them they must keen them in good condition (for you!).

The illustrations are beautiful and the way the book is written is really interesting. It’s like two people corresponding with each other in the old school way – snail mail! They send postcards and letters, and you actually can take the letters out of the envelope and experience it the way the character in the book would. It’s kind of like a love story, but not really.

The series has 5 books and there is another book by Nick Bantock (not as good) included as well.

This is a great set of books. I hope someone take this up because it’s great!

ITEM #33: BOOK – In the miso soup by Ryu Murakami

I bought this book from Kinoyuniya in Sydney in 2005 after looking for other books by another Murakami (the one who wrote Sputnik Sweetheart). My boyfriend J and I were really into Japanese literature at the time after our trip to Japan. I even paid $30 for this book – which I would never do nowadays.

This book is nothing like the other Murakami’s writing… who likes to name drop about other writers and musicians and things. There is much more blood, guts and nudity in this. I’ve since read another one of Ryu Murakami’s books (Piercing) and have decided that maybe I’m not cut out to be one of his fans.

If you’re going to Japan soon, it’s great to read this kind of stuff to get you in the mood.

Here’s the first paragraph on the inside jacket…
“It’s just before New Year.

Frank, an overweight American tourist, has hired Kenji to take him on a guided tour of Tokyo’s nightlife on three successive evenings. But Frank’s behaviour is so strange that Kenji beings to entertain a horrible suspicion: that his client may be in fact the killer currently terrorizing the city.”

SOLD! ITEM #32: BAG – Red Cellini handbag with compendium

I bought this bag on sale at David Jones in something like 2002. It is a really nice work bag and when I use it many people comment on it. My work attire isn’t really that professional, so I rarely use this bag. Actually, I like to use this when I go for job interviews because I can hide a magazine in the compendium while still looking professional! :-)

ITEM #31: KITCHENWARE– TEA POT

I really love this teapot but I rarely use it because it doesn’t have its own strainer and it’s only really good for one cup (and I am too greedy for just one cup).

My yoga instructor gave it to me in 2005 because I was drumming up so much business for her. It was like I was trying to be the top rung in a yoga recruiting pyramid scheme (visit www.coreyogastudios.com for class timetable… she really is the best yoga instructor I have ever been to. Anyone who meets her will love her).

I am slightly hesitant to give this teapot up – it looks quite nice on my bookcase at the moment. But I think someone who would use it could love it more than I do.

ITEM #30: ACCESSORIES – COIN PURSE

I bought this coin purse in 1996 when I was on schoolies.

When you move the purse from side to side you can sort of see the flower picture opening and closing.

If you are a smoker, this would be a good purse to store coins in the car (assuming you use the ash tray for ash). Also handy if you like to buy lots of stuff from vending machines, train tickets and other things were you need to collect coins.

SOLD! ITEM #29: BOOK – Are men necessary? When sexes collide by Maureen Dowd

I asked my boyfriend J to buy this for me for my birthday in 2006. I found this book a very entertaining read. I can’t quite remember if it was the content of the book, the writing style or because I was also watching the West Wing at the time and was enjoying all things American.

Here are some points I found interesting that I wrote down in my reading notes:

• It’s more a man’s world today than ever. Men can eat their cake in unlimited bakeries
• Women would move from playing with Barbie, to denouncing Barbie, to remaking themselves as Barbie
• Women demand equality, girls just want to have fun and ladies long to loll about
• Choosing between work and home is, in the end, a problem only for those who have a choice

ITEM #28: BAG: Green bag with bunny

My Mum gave this to me a couple of years ago. Her friend gave it to her but she thought it was ridiculous so she gave it to me. I absolutely love this bag, but unfortunately it only gets an airing one at year at Easter-time. And Easter is not that long.

Whenever I use this bag I like to stroke the terry toweling bunny. If I’m somewhere too serious for the bunny, I face the rabbit towards my body so other people can’t see it. But I still know he’s there.

I often wonder who decided to make this bag. Who were they thinking would buy it and use it? I think maybe the designer had you in mind! :-)

SOLD! ITEM #27: BOOK: Teach yourself world faiths

I finished reading this book in January 2006.

According to my reading notes different world faiths address the nature of existence. Taoism aims to retain in the mind as few analytic concepts as possible. Shinto celebrates the world rather than reject it as is it. Judaism followers feel that freedom and independence of thought are important aspects of life. Baha’ism believes that the main religions of the world share basic commonalities and as such we may regard all faiths as being an expression of the same divine spirit. Hinduism is more of a process of accretion and evolution…. What does all that mean?? Read the full book to find out more.

ITEM #26: PHOTO FRAME: Two way swinging photo frame

I think my now sister-in-law K gave me this for Christmas one year. The frame currently holds a picture of my boyfriend J in front of the Sydney Opera House (photo not included).

The good thing about this frame is that you can put two pictures in it. So if you two boyfriends (or girlfriends)… or maybe two kids… you could put one on each side and just display the favourite of the day.

ITEM #25: ACCESSORIES: Make Poverty History wrist bands

I bought two of these in 2005 for my boyfriend J and I and I received the third one at a work Christmas party. I’m not really sure what you’re supposed to do with these things once the official day has passed.

I have not really been able to make poverty history, but maybe their new owners will have a better chance?