fourth floor feminism | sociable speculation

Poster: From Jen's first trip to Europe Pot Plant: Oscar Reason: Styling my rooms My part-time engineering consultant Germaine and I went to IKEA today to by some essentials for our respective rooms; for me it was a home for Oscar and something to enable me to hang Jen's poster finally. It was only halfway through the IKEA shopping trip that Germaine remembered to tell me that this particular IKEA had been designed by one of her classmates. It is a great thing that enough time has passed since the days of administering to the UWA Civil Engineering Class of '06 that they are designing the buildings I walk into.

Party: Marketing Agency Christmas Party Venue: The Quarry Amphitheatre Theme: Woodstock I got to wear hippie clothes, dance to sixties classics and I stole a smiley face hacky sack.

Premium fruit: Cherries Source: Jon Doust Reason: He brings Viv some each year after the Cherry Festival Cherries are the taste of an Australian Christmas. These beauties were brought straight from the orchards of Manjimup, and they are out of this world. First Class fruit is such a dilemma because it is so delicious that you don't want to gorge yourself lest you take the heavenly sweetness for granted; but they must be eaten so quickly in case someone else gets a chance to eat any ...

Pot plant: Oscar Reason: Atmosphere in my rooms The is a play staged by The Duck House about a girl called Claire and a pot plant called Oscar. I never saw it when it was playing, and I really wish I had - I keep on asking Sarah if she will re-stage it sometime, because I really want to see it. I can only imagine that it would be awesome, and hopefully quite a bit more interesting than my own adventures today with my own Oscar. The photo above was taken at about 8.45pm tonight, and I am only smiling because home was a mere 5 minutes away. You see, I had left work at 7pm and swung past the residence of a nice Italian lady on Bulwer Street who was selling pot plants. We spent some time deciding what my first pot plant will be, and I finally settled on Oscar. I paid a pittance for him and headed off in the dusk for home. Then the saga began - I answered my mobile on the corner of Vincent and Fitzgerald Street, my purse fell out of my bag as I walked up Fitzgerald talking on the...

Big Pot: A Christmas gift from my brothers Small Pot: A prop I bought for food photos Reason: Because a good stock pot, no matter its size, is a wonderful thing I don't want to give anything away, but I have this tiny ceramic George Clooney too ...

Potplant: No idea what it is called, I just bought it because it was red Reason: To create some responsibility in my life I needed a milestone in my life, so I bought a living thing. I will try not to kill it ...

Plaything: Fondant Main Ingredient: Fingers Reason: Truffles Last weekend Ariel and I planned to make six to eight different flavours of truffles - chocolate was stockpiled, alcohol obtained and imaginative combinations planned. Ariel has made truffles in her sleep and together we are no slouches in the kitchen. But that Saturday we destroyed everything we tried to cook - cheesecakes separated and curdled, ganaches separated or refused to set, cupcakes exploded and then collapsed, caramel ran, chocolate spread and frustration turned to hilarity as nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING went right. So we threw sugar covered hands in the air, excessive amounts of dishes in the sink, uncooperative ingredients in the freezer and put on high heels to drink away our sorrows up and down Beaufort Street. Once out of the kitchen, things were brilliant. This weekend we have done everything possible to appease the Kitchen Gods who so spectacularly deserted us last weekend. Sacrifices and prayers ha...

Location: Cafe 130 Reason: The Bowen Girls are Unhinged I just love it that of all the things that could be written to deface this poster, it was my sister's name!

Shades: Left behind at the Ball Reason: The owner was too busy being chivalrous Today I was lucky enough to spend a few hours with a really well mannered man; not a mostly well mannered man, or a selectively well mannered man, but a universally well mannered man. And stupidly I couldn’t enjoy it because he kept on surprising me with his good manners; I would jump when he was gallant and forget to actually enjoy a warm, kind heart. Next time I am around him I am going to slow down and enjoy the raucous laugh and easy company of this man. I am halfway through my cup of tea and I am ready for my lie down …

Cupcake: Made by me Details: Made by others Reason: Plasticine is fun Last year I went to a Christmas party for a company I had only been working at for about five weeks. I turned up and realised I really didn't want to socialise with the adults, so I established myself at the kids table with the plasticine and decided to go for broke in the Plasticine Competition. I chose a topic I knew alot about - cupcakes - and married it with one I did not - gardening. I love the cupcake, not just because the base cupcake was so well made by me, but because each detail on the cupcake itself was donated by one of the kids at the table. I won the adult section of the competition (one other competitor) and got to take home a great little piece of ... plasticine.