Anzac Day Long Weekend

For the past few years I've rolled out of bed before the birdies were even awake to attend an Anzac Day dawn service somewhere in town. Sometimes the local one, other times the big service in the city around the Shrine of Remembrance. This year I went with my Grandfather to the service in Toowong. He served in New Guinea in World War II. He's told my sister and I some pretty crazy and amazing stories about his time in the army. The Toowong service was really good. All the music was played live by a band.



Here is a photo of us at the breakfast after the service. Some diggers were there cooking up right proper breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast that you could wash down with juice, coffee, tea or the Anzac favourite: rum and milk. The old diggers were right into that stuff! Gee those old diggers are funny. They banter and bag each other out just like they were young fellows.

Later that day Matt and I headed out to Laidley for Pete's Shed Warming Party! That's right. A shed party. No house. Just a big grassy block of land with nothing but Pete's brand spanking new shed. Seriously it was the best fun ever. Everyone camped out, we hung around the fire, toasted marshmallows, had a bbq dinner, lounged under the giant tent marquee and watched the Ten Fours play. I see the Ten Fours all the time but they never get old. Later in the night we all sat around the fire singing along to the tunes Mitchy was busting out on his guitar. When we feel sleepy and decided to retire, all we had to do was crawl into the tent. And most of all, it was in the country! I love nothing more than getting away to the country.

The Ten Fours

Matt & Aleisha's wheelbarrow shenanigans! As Pony says "These guys crash every party!"

Toasting marshmallows with gin & juice in hand while sporting some AWESOME cowboy boots. Any excuse will do to wear those boots.

No bottles of champagne here 'cause out in the west Big Guns Paul christens new sheds with his sweet Harley.

Awoke in the morning to a Chihuahua in our tent. DARNIT ALEISHA! ...At least it wasn't a snake.

Tiki Bar Pin-up Photos with photographer Pete Walker

I did this very exciting Hawaiian/Polynesian themed Tiki Shoot late last year with Pete Walker a.k.a Pix By Pete. He's the wonderful photographer behind many of the photos for Greazefest, the Twilight Hot Rod Show and many of the Brisbane rockabilly gigs. The wonderful location is my good mate Rik's bar which he was keen to have photographed before it was all dismantled when he moved house.



I've actually got a bit of a beef with many of the Hawaiian themed photo shoots these days because the models are always wearing those nasty plastic grass skirts. I do. not. like. them. They always look so fake and tacky and I vowed never to wear one. Thankfully another great mate of mine, Rob lent me his authentic Tahitian grass skirt. It is absolutely beautiful. It was unbelievably hot and heavy to wear. I also had to be very careful not to break/shed as little of the grass as possible. Not as easy at it seems! I wonder how long these skirts would hold out for the Tahitians.


Cuddling up to an angry Tiki

One thing I learned on this shoot is that coconut bras are not in any way flattering! You don't realise it until you're wearing them but your boobs are lost inside these coconut shells making you look entirely flat chested. Meanwhile the string straps are cutting into your skin and offering no support whatsoever. My bandanna wrapped around my strapless bra worked much better don't you think?



Our lovely host Rik refused to send us home with empty stomachs after hours of hard work shooting and fed us pizza. Yum yums.


Pete and I!

This is all making me think that gee, I haven't done many photo shoots this year! I must organise some more because they are good fun. My next one is with Cress, a photographer I haven't work with before. We're going to be shooting with an old war plane so keep your eyes peeled for an update on that one.

Cleveland Auto Spectacular, Swap Meet & Other junk

I was back at school last Monday, thrust headlong into sewing zips and waistbands. I've done these before but it good to learn the right way as opposed to sitting in my sewing room trying to teach myself and pulling a few good hanks of hair out in the process.

Ice skating on Friday night! Went with the boy. I impressed him with my super skilled backwards skating and he impressed me by bowling over some orange witches hats with his body. The gross thing was that those witches hats were covering a section of bloodied ice. Matt slid right through it. Erk erk erk! The blood we can only assume came from someone who had a nasty stack earlier on the ice. When we arrived we noticed an ambulance in the car park. Hopefully that person was ok! Matt's hilarious stack left him with nothing more than a few superficial scrapes and an innate sense of pride for knocking over witches hats whilst airborne.


Sunday I awoke at the crack of dawn to do one of the things I love to do best. Go to a swap meet! This time it was at the Cleveland Showgrounds for the Cleveland Auto Spectacular. Alec made a good point point of saying "I'm not sure what's more fun, checking out the cool cars, or laughing at the really really bad ones"



The Good



The Bad



The Ugly



... and just plain old 'What the heck?'. We couldn't help but think this would make a GREAT Chinese home delivery car.


The swap meet was sorely disappointing this year. There was nothing good on offer at and to top it off we all got rained on. I was saturated and rather cranky. So I slunk home for a hot cocoa before retreating under the doona to catch up on the sleep in I missed out on. From the depths of the doona I watched New Moon. I shamefully enjoyed the book but heck ... that movie was pretty bad. Things got worse when I watched Underbelly and a nasty fellow threw a cat off a balcony. Boy I was glad when yesterday ended.

Niagra & The Hitmen + The Jim Rockfords live at the Step Inn.

Niagara the amazing pop artist and singer was in Brisbane this weekend and there was no way I was missing that. I've been a big fan of her art since I was a youngin' writing assignments about Niagara for art class in high school when I was 15. I take my lunch to work in a Niagara lunch tin! Niagara does amazing artwork like this...






While I was more familiar with her for her artistic career rather than for her music I still figured $30 was worth shelling out to check out her music for the first time, to see her sing with the Hitmen as well as seeing my friends band The Jim Rockfords who were opening for the night. It was a night of Rock, Punk and Garage! I met up with Bella, Paul, Sam and Mitchy Mayhem who was there to drum for the Jim Rockfords.



The lovely Bella & I.


Mitchy Mayhem!


Paul, Sam & Bella. Mitch and I think these guys should start a band and call themselves 'The Spectacles'. Har har har ... errr.

It was a bit of a strange night because we felt like we were the only 20 something year olds there. Save for a few others that I couldn't even count on my left hand, the crowd consisted entirely of middled aged folks. I mostly noticed the over enthusiastic, sweaty middle aged men who tried to mosh. Oh yes, I forget that about punk gigs. They're rowdy and boisterous and it's a bit intimidating for a little girl like me who likes to watch the band from the front. I had to get a bit feisty and shove away the big men that tried to get in front of me.




The Jim Rockfords



The Hitmen


The Beautiful Niagara

Niagara was amazing. But I didn't expect any less. I was right up the front, dancing around with Paul and Niagara reached out and grabbed my hand as she sung. Meanwhile I'm freaking out thinking 'Oh my god! Niagara is holding my hand with her beautifully manicured one! Oooooh!' Paul and I swooned over her the whole set. She is such a fox and is still rocking a hot body at 54! Heck. She doesn't look anywhere NEAR 54! I want to look that hot at 54!!!



P.S. Damn. I didn't get a photo of myself in my brand new jeans. Seriously I spent good money to buy high waist extreme skinny jeans in order to wear my cowboy boots without that irritating gathering above the knee, and I can't even show them off in this post. Boo-urns! Until next time folks.

Hey Drea, just want to say hi. I've become a huge fan thru the Dimity site. You're an awesome girl with sass and there should be more like you in the world. I'm a middle aged mum now, but a lifetime ago you and I weren't so different. Love Samantha.

Thank you Samantha! xo

Got a burning question?

Formspring question: Where did you go to get your gorgeous swallow tattoos?

My swallows are my own drawing and were tattooed by AJ Traynor at True Love Tattoo in Sherwood, Brisbane when I was 18.

I discovered the shop after asking a girl where she got her beautiful tattoo work on her back. I booked in without even visiting the shop but they did not disappoint and I have gone back there to AJ for all my tattoos ever since.

Ask me anything. Fire away!

The Ten Fours kick off the Grease Pit at Zuri

When I heard there was a rockabilly gig at Zuri Bar & Dining I bundled myself off after work before you could say 'The Ten Fours'. It was the first time I had drive alone through the city/valley and was a little nervy. I just never know if I'm in the right lane! But I got there without a hitch!


Zuri is this amazingly opulent bar on Brunswick Street in the Valley and I hadn't yet had the chance to check it out. It was packed! Apparently there was a burlesque dancer earlier however I was too late and missed out. And I am told there was also Boylan soda and all kinds of nom noms from onion rings, hot dogs, burgers and fries but I was either too late for that as well or more likely, too involved watching the band to have noticed.






Here's a quick video on the Ten Fours in action. Now this was the first time I used my phone to record a clip and like the idiot noob I was, I turned it on it's side not realising that it would not go and correct itself. Oops! But I endeavoured to still put it up, simply because it's a great song.



And another video that's actually the right way up.