June 2026 - PLAYWORKEATREPEAT

What’s Up Wednesday

Hi friends, and welcome to the June edition of What’s Up Wednesday. Time to share a little about what’s been going on in June. Thanks so much for stopping by! What We’re Eating Monday – Roast beef and veggies. It’s the perfect winter meal! Tuesday – Leftover roast beef Wednesday – Steak, chips and salad Thursday – Dinner at Allawah pub, so I’ll most likely order a chicken schnitzel with two lots of gravy. Because it’s winter, we’ve decided that if we want to eat out, we’re going to keep it local. Allawah pub and Lilong Chinese restaurant are our local winter hangs. In the summer we’ll venture out to Newtown and the city. Friday – Spaghetti and meatballs. I went to Ikea last Sunday and left with home organisation things and frozen meatballs. The weekend is full of surprises because I have no meal plan. What I’m Reminiscing About Warm weather! What I’m Loving I was thinking about this prompt and came up with a whole list of things I’m not loving because it’s winter. So that’s not great. Hmmmmm……I really had to dig deep, and I came up with winter fashion. Yes, I think I do love winter fashion because you get to wear more clothes. Haha, that sounds weird. What I mean is that you get to wear a variety of layers, mix and match outfits, and accessorise. In summer, especially in Sydney, it’s often too hot to wear much beyond the basics. Winter gives you a lot more options, and I do enjoy putting outfits together. What We’ve Been Up To At the risk of sounding boring, nothing particularly exciting is happening right now. It’s the usual work and home routine, as well as cosy nights.But I’ve realised that sometimes the ordinary weeks, when everything is just moving along as it should be, are actually the good ones. I’ve come to appreciate the “boring” seasons because they usually mean everyone I love is okay and life is steady. What I’m Dreading Whenever I dread anything, it’s usually medical-related. If you’ve been reading along, you’ll know I have major anxiety about anything to do with going to see a doctor. But yay to me, I still show up for the usual tests even though the stress of them probably takes years off my life (dramatic much). I got some blood test results back today. A few things were a bit low or high, nothing serious, but it does mean another follow-up test in four months. I really need to stop leaving every appointment feeling like I’ve been given a dramatic life sentence when, in reality, it’s all manageable. What I’m Watching Oh my goodness, I binge-watched Gavin and Stacey in June, and I absolutely loved it! It’s a British comedy written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families from very different parts of the UK whose lives get connected when Gavin from Essex and Stacey from Wales fall in love. I love every single character, and I’ve told everyone I know that their lives are not complete until they watch this series. So far, only one coworker has taken my advice, and now her life is so much better for it. Every morning she greets me with, “What’s occurring, Miss Ruth?” Haha. IYKYK. What I’m Listening To This month it’s all about 90s music… Whoomp! There It Is! What I’m Wearing I bought this jacket from Zara, and I’ve been wearing it a lot this season. I’ve also been wearing my very bright Onitsuka Tiger sneakers I bought in Japan. What I’m Doing This Weekend It’s a no-plans weekend. What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month The July school holidays! Woop woop! I’ve got some fun outings planned with friends, and I also have tickets to see Disney on Ice. Gotta get a Disney fix! That’s a wrap for June! We’re halfway through the year already, and I’m still convinced we had Christmas about five minutes ago. Time is wild. Hope your June was a good one — here’s to an amazing July!

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Kyoto Day Trip from Osaka

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Kyoto Day Trip from Osaka Our trip to Japan felt a bit like a tasting menu. We got a taste of so many incredible places, but there’s always one you wish you’d gone back to for seconds. Kyoto was that place for me, and next time we visit Japan, I’ll definitely be ordering the large portion of Kyoto! We organised a full-day trip to Kyoto while we were staying in Osaka, as it’s only about a 30-minute bullet train ride away. Even though we only had a day there, in true cousin connect travel style, we managed to pack quite a bit in. Breakfast at 7-Eleven Our first stop was 7-Eleven for something to eat. Oh my goodness, 7-Elevens in Japan are something else. The range of fresh food is amazing, and the prices are crazy cheap. teamLab Biovortex Kyoto After that, we spent over three hours at teamLab Biovortex, and as I said in the recap, I think it may have been the highlight of the trip. Heading to Arashiyama Then we stopped for burgers at Wagyu to Worldwide before heading out to Arashiyama to see the famous bamboo forest. We took the train from central Kyoto out to Saga-Arashiyama, and from there walked through the streets towards the bamboo grove. The whole area had such a peaceful, calm feel, and everything sounded almost muted. Maybe it was because we were surrounded by so much greenery and mountains. It gave the effect of being in a soundproof room. It’s kind of hard to explain, but that’s the closest I can describe it. Arashiyama Bamboo Grove When we got to the bamboo forest, Sam, who visited Kyoto in 2024, told me it was really short, and we’d be through it in no time. Either he remembered it differently, or my sense of distance was completely off, because it felt so much longer than I was expecting. I kept asking him how he thought it was short, but he couldn’t really remember. It’s a mystery. Anyway, the bamboo forest was incredible, with towering bamboo all along the path. I remember saying out loud, “I can’t believe I’m here.” I think I say that a lot when I’m overseas. It usually goes: “I can’t believe I survived the flight and landed,” and then, “I can’t believe I’m here,” whenever I see an amazing sight. Hehe. At the end of the bamboo forest, we came across a small temple tucked away just off the path. As we walked further through Arashiyama, we reached a small lookout where we could see the mountains rising around the area. So beautiful and peaceful. Almost Made It (But Didn’t) After the bamboo forest, we really wanted to visit the Tenryu-ji Temple gardens, which are right there next to the bamboo grove. But it was already too late, and even though we sprinted to try and make it before the gates closed at 5, we missed it. The famous red gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha are also in Kyoto, but we needed another day to explore those as well. So that’s two big reasons to go back to Kyoto one day. I think we did a great Kyoto day trip. It really was so beautiful and one of those days that felt like a lot, but still not quite enough at the same time. I hope to visit you again, Kyoto… you really stole my heart on this trip.

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My Most Used Emojis

6 Comments / Hello Monday, Home

Hey there, friends! It’s time for the June edition of Share Our Lives. This month’s topic is the emojis we use most often. At first, I wasn’t sure how much I could say about emojis. But when I looked at the ones I use the most, I guess they might just say quite a bit about my personality. So, here are the emojis I use most often and why they made the list. Emojis I Use Most Often The Happy Face 😊 This is the emoji I use the most because it’s a friendly, polite, all-purpose response. It also conveys warmth, keeps things light, or just acknowledges something. It’s the one I use when I want to say “yep, all good”. The Laughing Face 😂 I use this emoji a lot because my friends and family are always sending me hilarious reels or funny little recaps of their day. The Heart ❤️ I usually heart messages when I receive them. But when I use the heart emoji as a reply, it’s usually because I have no words for how much something means. The Monkey Covering Its Eyes 🙈 This is my “I can’t believe this” or “Oh no, I messed up” emoji. It’s perfect for embarrassing or awkward moments, and I like this one because it softens things and makes them feel less serious. Also, my nickname growing up was Monkey, so I kind of see myself as the monkey in this emoji — a bit goofy. The Celebration 🎉 This one screams “woohoo, let’s dance and pop the champagne.” I love it because you can send it for anything that is a win, big or small. It’s the weekend… boom, celebration emoji. Worked out where to go for the weekend or an upcoming holiday… boom, celebration emoji. My plane landed safely… celebration emoji. The 100 per cent 💯 If I fully agree with something or want to really emphasise it, this is the one I use because it packs a real punch. The Blowing a Kiss Emoji 😘 This is my affectionate one. I use it with close friends and family when I want to send a bit of love or warmth at the end of a message. Emojis are great because they can communicate so much in one little picture. But as I was wrapping up, I had a little chuckle thinking about how the older you get and the more your eyesight shifts, the more careful you need to be not to press the wrong emoji. I’ve accidentally done that 🙈 I’d love to know what your most used emojis are. I feel like they might say more about us than we realise 😊 Linking up with Adrienne, Dara, Joanne and Jen

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TeamLab Biovortex Kyoto Experience

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My family and I were chatting about the highlight of our trip to Japan, and even though we visited so many amazing places, the overall consensus was that teamLab Biovortex Kyoto came out on top. Which says a lot, because we are a die-hard Disney family. Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are hard to beat in our world, so I never expected anything else to even be mentioned in the same breath. But teamLab Biovortex Kyoto is right up there for us, because yes, it was that good! What is teamLab? TeamLab is a Japanese art collective that creates immersive digital art experiences. Think giant interactive rooms full of light, colour, movement and sound. You step in and, bam, you become part of the artwork. It’s nothing like a traditional art gallery where you admire artworks from afar. Now, don’t let the word art put you off if art isn’t really your thing. That was the case for our youngest cousin in our travelling group. She wasn’t 100 per cent convinced she’d enjoy the visit when she heard it was an art experience. But two minutes in, she was completely won over. Just like the rest of us, she absolutely loved it. TeamLab experiences can be found in a few cities across Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka. Each location is different, with its own installations and themes, so it is never the same experience twice. I had such an incredible time at teamLab Biovortex Kyoto that I would genuinely love to experience the others as well. Maybe one day. What to expect at teamLab Biovortex Kyoto Once you walk in, you’re not really looking at separate “exhibits” in the usual sense. You move through a series of large immersive rooms where the whole space is part of the artwork. The floors and walls are covered in digital light and projections that shift and react as you move through them, so nothing seems to stay still. The room changes depending on where you are and what you’re doing. Some spaces feel really calm, with flowing light, colour and peaceful music. Others are more full-on, with layered visuals and interactive elements: You can play with foam… spin giant colour-changing blobs walk through metallic paint wearing gumboots jump on giant bouncy cushions while following a projected star (I couldn’t keep up with the star, but it was still so much fun!) play with giant inflatable balls, and we may have gotten carried away bouncing them off each other’s heads–lucky we’re a close family and walk through shallow water that changes colour and reacts to your steps I felt like a kid in a futuristic jungle gym and had a go at everything. Holiday Ruth came out to play! Is teamLab Biovortex Kyoto worth it? 1,500 per cent yes! TeamLab Biovortex Kyoto is an immersive, interactive feast for the senses, and unlike anything I have ever experienced before. We all absolutely loved it and would go again in a heartbeat. If you’re planning a visit, you can find more information on the official teamLab Biovortex Kyoto website.

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