A Day To Remember

A few weeks ago Jake and I found out one of my favourite bands, A Day To Remember, were about to come back to Australia to play some shows in the capital cities. I was so excited when we found out, as I have wanted to see them live for ages, but I had only just started my job and I was too scared to spend any money on myself until I got back on top of things financially. With great self-restraint, I stepped away from the computer without buying tickets, and decided to carry on with my life. I mean, they've been a band for 10 years and they come here every few years, surely I'll get a chance to see them one day, right?

Well, my self-restraint lasted and I soon forgot all about the concert. Until last Wednesday, that is, when Jake texted me reminding me the concert was in two days' time! My self-restraint broke at once. I was adamant that I would be at that concert, and after a quick check "just out of curiosity" to see if there were any tickets left, I all of a sudden found a pair of them in my email inbox. Gee, that escalated quickly, I thought!

Jake couldn't believe I had been so spontaneous, as I'm normally such a meticulous planner, but after Friday night, and the amazing experience we had at the concert, I'm so glad I was! Every now and then, I tend to turn things on their head and do something crazy and out of the blue. Last time this happened I got a tattoo, and this time, here I am with a new band shirt and a bunch of blurry photos to remember a fantastic concert!

A Day To Remember are fantastic live. Jeremy McKinnon's voice is so versatile, and the rest of the band are just so great at what they do! Jeremy entertained us with some little stories between songs, which were often quite hilarious, and resulted in the whole band ripping on him, and it was an incredibly high-energy concert with the band throwing out free t-shirts, beach balls and toilet paper which made the crowd go crazy and was heaps of fun! For the first half of the set, I was a little bit disappointed, as they only played one of my favourite songs, but then the second half of the set started, and BAM! There they all were, one after the other! Plus, they played a four song encore which included Downfall of Us All and If It Means A Lot To You, and that was AMAZING! Jake and I both had a great night, even if he was a wuss in the mosh pit and even if I did almost end up in a circle pit/crushed to death by some fat bitches with spiked cuffs on. It had been so long since I'd been to a concert and I'm so glad that I went, survived the night and survived a 9 hour shift at work the next day with my condition. Excuse the cheesy pun, but it was a night to remember!

Brisbane Adventures with Nan

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of taking my Nan to Brisbane for a PET scan and appointment with a specialist. This made for a great opportunity to spend quality time with Nan and so I was thrilled to have been asked on this all expenses paid trip. She has stage four breast cancer which has moved to her liver and the scan and appointment was to check that the cancer wasn't anywhere else in her body and organise for the diseased part of her liver to be removed. Thankfully, the only cancer is close to the surface of her liver and can easily be removed!

We stayed at the Dianna Plaza Hotel which is a few blocks from The Mater Private Hospital on Wednesday night because she couldn't see the doctor until late Thursday afternoon, after the scan's results had been delivered.

Wednesday afternoon, after Nan's scan, saw us get completely lost on our way to the hotel and although I was frustrated and tense at first (I haven't done much city driving before) it turned out to be the most brilliant part of the trip, because we stumbled upon a slice of heaven...

The Woolloongabba Antique Centre! Via

We didn't have time to stop just then, but seeing all the antique shops in the area, we promised ourselves we'd return after lunch.

Yum Cha at what we thought was the hotel's restaurant followed, then a quick rest for Nan in the hotel room before we returned to heaven on earth itself.

We spent the rest of the afternoon going between antique shops until we came to the massive Woolloongabba Antique Centre where we centred the rest of the afternoon's activities. Nan got tired around 5:30 after a few hours browsing, so I snapped up these little beauties:

And off we went back to the hotel.

Only to return the next day for the whole day!

I spent the whole time in WAC with an ear to ear grin and a yearning for a wallet full of cash as I drunk in the sight of the 50's style diner, the silent movie theatre and the dozens upon dozens of stalls of antiques! We enjoyed lunch and afternoon tea in the diner at WAC and had an absolute ball browsing through the stalls, me trying on frock after frock and squealing with delight at my discoveries and Nan frequently stopping along her trip down memory lane to fill me in on this and that about growing up in the 50's (my favourite era). It was great spending this quality time with Nan and I'm sure it won't take me too long to make it back to Brisbane and the Woolloongabba Antique Centre again!

Why I need a record player

The silent Theatre

What I want to do if I ever get my hands on some vintage suitcases

A WORKING hamburger phone just like off Juno! Sissy nearly died when I showed her this!

Taxidermy animals at Urban Antiques. Te polar bear and the brown bear were absolutely awe-inspiring to see in such a sad but strangely wonderous state!

A closer look at the beautiful vintage ads I bought. There was a whole stall of them at WAC! I picked these out especially to match some fabric I bought aaaagggeeessss ago in Spotlight and plan to make an ottoman out of. They will look great on the walls in the lounge room above it! Little did I know when I picked it, the outfit in the bottom ad was actually Nan's going away outfit when she got married! The ad is from February 1962 and Nan and Grandad got married that May. Knowing this sealed the deal for me - I had to have this ad! 

If you're ever in the Brisbane area - check out Woolloongabba Antique Centre - it is well worth it for all the vintage, kitchsy, antique goodness and the music they play there is just awesome!!