Melbourne is a badass

It feels like light years ago but I have thought about Melbourne every day since we visited it. It was quaint and modern, bustling and contemplative, pretty yet grungy – you can be sure all those cheesy travel journal words you find in airplane magazines applies to Melbourne. We embraced ALL this spectacular city has to offer: food, art, trams, chilly weather and a whole lot of fine alcohol. Here are my favourite (unphotoshopped because I am still in lazy ass mode) shots…

(and just in case you are wondering where the street art shots are, they deserve a post all on their own)

All images via Wishful Thinking

The power of neutral (and herringbone)

I had THE BEST weekend. It started with a day off on Friday and got better ever since. I’ve spoken about my endless restlessness before but lately it seems to be on speed. I sit down and then get up two seconds later, I start a book and then put it straight down, I start blogging and then taper off. It’s maddening. And then Friday came along and I couldn’t bring myself to get up off the sofa. I l.o.u.n.g.e.d. I worried about nothing and no-one. I just kicked my woolly socked feet in the air and revelled in relaxation. It was delicious. Now that Sunday is here, I feel like a totally new woman. Wrapped in a fluffy pink fug of calm. I’m hoping the mood takes me through the week but to help it along, I’m sticking to all things calm. I found an absolutely stunning neutral London home complete with one of my favourite patterns, herringbone. You couldn’t get any more zen than this place.

Source | Remodelista

Work in progress

First off, I just wanted to say thanks for the supportive messages from my post on Monday (promise, I’ll stop needing supportive words soon… honest). You’ll probably never hear me say this again but it’s been good to get back to work and keep distracted so that we can finally get back to normality. Luckily, the Aussies are fond of public holidays and we have another one coming up on Friday (3-day weeks should be law just by the way). I’m hoping to keep busy with some crafty projects that I have been procrastinating on. I’m also hoping to finally get some order into our spare room-come home office. It’s currently acting as a graveyard for folded washing (that I am too lazy to pack away), beach paraphernalia, receipts and bills. I’m thinking something earthy and organic and dare I say, studious? Here’s my moodboard.

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K |

Perspective

Happy (belated) Easter everyone! Our Easter holidays began with a car accident. Our very first and hopefully our very last. Luckily it looks like injuries to all are mostly minor (we are both fine) but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I have never been so scared in my entire life. So Easter was officially cancelled for us and Jordan and I spent most of the weekend in a haze of shock and worry. If you can take one positive thing from a car accident (and boy that is difficult to do) it’s that every other stupid thing you have ever worried about, suddenly seems utterly trivial. The transition to a new country has been exceptionally hard for us but after some deep reflection, Jordan and I both agreed that we were slowly falling into the category of being those moany ungratefuls. Noisy neighbours, tiring commutes to work, long work days, empty bank accounts – subjects of my recent tirades - all pale in comparison to getting seriously hurt or losing a life. As much as car accidents (as well as life’s other unpredictables) truly suck, sometimes you need a little perspective. A little reminder that actually, your life is pretty sweet. You are lucky, healthy, blessed, alive – go and make the most of it.

Come right in!

I had to smile at all the comments on my Autumn post! It’s very peculiar to be trawling through endless pictures of cherry blossoms and summer dresses whilst we hunker down with stew and fleece blankets (fessing up here, it’s only really dipped to about 18 degrees which is a UK summer. In my defence, we are acclimatised now). However, having grown up in the Southern Hemisphere, I finally feel like all is back to normal. It’s still very very wet in Sydney so I wanted to stick with the cozy theme this week. I managed to find another doozy on NZ House and Garden (how have I lived without this resource?) – another Waikeke Island beauty (owned by NZ interior designer Anna Desbonnets, NZ’s very own version of Martha Stewart apparently). Warm and dark woods, rich jewelled coloured rugs and layers of art and texture make this one of the most inviting homes I have come across in a while. When I first saw it, I thought it screamed: Come right in, make yourself at home. Don’t you think?

Source | NZ House & Garden

It’s in the air

Sydney’s air has a dense watery (almost tropical) texture to it on an almost daily basis. I am yet to feel that icy chill of autumn or winter that I grew so accustomed to in England. Saying this, a change is definitely in the air. I had to dig through the recesses of my wardrobe for something warmer than a t-shirt and have spent most weekend with my face pressed up against the windows, wishing the torrential rain would just do one and let us enjoy our beach home in peace. Saying that, it’s been a fair while since I experienced an autumn and I find myself looking forward to the onset of the chill. You can remind me of this post when, in a few months, I will be deep into my first Aussie winter and no doubt willing summer to hurry up and get here.

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

Some new skillz

In my quest for acquiring new skills for a better blog and a better me, I subject my husband to all manor of experiments. Numerous inedible baking disasters, crack of dawn neighbourhood walks and countless trips to the shops. He has been a quiet endurer of all but one – photography. In this, he has been an active pursuer. Any blogger will tell you that at some point you feel the need to refine/acquire some serious photography skills and I was no exception. We bought the SLR, read all the books and took hundreds of bad photos.

Although my camera skills are good, I simply don’t have the patience to be great. Jordan, on the other hand, took to it like a duck to water. He can stand for hours fiddling with the settings, trying different angles, playing with the light. Me? I am all about instant gratification and very often lose my patience when the great shot doesn’t happen in a nanosecond. So here I am, watching my husband kick my ass at photography, hoping he’ll teach me cool stuff along the way. He’s already taught me the value of shooting in RAW and his new favourite toy, Adobe LightRoom. We currently have a monthly subscription for $10 which includes Adobe LightRoom and Photoshop. Here’s some of my favourite of his before and after shots:

All images via Wishful Thinking