My 2015

Happy New Year everyone! Hope we all celebrated in style? I am generally very anti NY celebrations (they never turn out the way you plan and it always seems to be a palaver to get from A to B, safely) but I happened to have a good evening this year, in spite of myself! I try not to make any resolutions, as I generally break them by the end of January but given my adoration of list making, I decided to make a few goals/milestones that I would like to achieve in 2015.

Travel more. 2014 wasn’t uneventful for me on the travelling front but no matter how much I see, I always want to see more. We are planning to make a big dent in seeing this vast land we live in but are also hoping to see Fiji and Japan too.

Start driving again. I am ashamed to admit that after I passed my driver’s test, nerves got the better of me and driving is now something that fills me with abject terror. I’ll conquer my fear and get back behind the wheel again. Mr Smith, please keep moaning at me about this on long car journeys (even if I shout at you). Thank you in advance.

Learn how to paddle board. (A silly goal I know) but an unusual one for me as I am someone who dips their toes into the water and that’s about it, but there is just something so peaceful and alluring about paddle boarding to me. Watch this space.

Be more zen. I want to start taking better care of my body. I know everyone makes and breaks their fitness resolutions but my goal isn’t to become super fit and lose weight (although that would be a bonus). It’s more to learn to relax, unwind and build a healthier body and mind. I started doing yoga for the first time in 2014 and it has been life changing. More of the same for 2015 I hope!

Explore more of Sydney. This goes hand-in-hand with travelling more but I have spent many weekends indoors in front of the tv when I should have been out discovering more of the city I live in. I have only just scratched the surface.

Challenge myself. I am determined that 2015 will be a year of learning and development for me. Whether that be by study or by a major career change. Whichever one comes first…

Call more. More often than not, I find myself preferring to hind behind a screen when communicating with those I hold dear. I am pledging to swap texting and emailing for a simple phone call instead.

Be more productive. Perhaps the hardest goal yet. I think if I had to add up the number of unfinished tasks I have started over the past year alone, I would have a heart attack. It’s multi-tasking gone mad. I hope to be less frenetic and more efficient and most importantly, finish what I start!

See a wombat in the wild. Those close to me have watched on in amusement at my relentless pursuit to see these little cuties in the wild (it has become nothing short of an obsession for me). But alas, they have eluded me time and time again. Not 2015 though, oh no. I will see one, even if I have to make my long suffering husband drive around country roads all night while I hang out the window with a torch.

And lastly, I have a few things I would like to do less of – sweating the small stuff, spending time in front of screens, being less aloof, drinking far less; but I know I will fail miserably at all these things. So I have chosen one simple thing to do less of in 2015 – buy less. Here’s hoping I follow through.

Click on the images to go to the source.

And that’s it for me. Feel free to call me out if you notice me contradicting any of the above throughout the year. How about you? Do you have any resolutions/goals for 2015?

The Trouble with Christmas

Image via Wishful Thinking

I don’t do these heart-to-heart posts often on this blog but with Christmas just gone, the topic of loneliness has been on the forefront of my mind and I felt an overwhelming urge to put pen to paper (so to speak). I wanted to start by clarifying that Christmas is my favourite time of the year (lest you think I am a regular Grinch) - I love the colours, the food, the traditions and I embrace it all with abandon. Unfortunately, it’s also the time of year when the absence of family and friends is felt more starkly for most. This year, with just Jordan and I at the Christmas table, the loneliness felt almost unbearable. We tried. We opened presents, we headed down to the beach, we cooked a lovely meal but with hoards of families enjoying the sunshine together, the chasm grew and grew. By late afternoon, photos of family gatherings back home began to appear on Facebook, obligatory phone calls from reluctant relatives were hurriedly received and made (or in my case, none were received at all) and Christmas lunch was eaten quickly and packed away quietly. Wine was drunk and self pity was had in spades. It was the very first Christmas that I wished away. And will hopefully be the last.

A few days away from the confines of home, doing some of my favourite things raised a few new questions and concerns (mainly for the future generation of little Smiths that will share in the same isolation), but thankfully, the time away allowed me to think and helped validate our continued choice of living away from “home”. I also realised something that brought a level of comfort and perspective to me, Jordan and I are not alone. There are others out there that have made the difficult choice to leave all they know behind to carve out new (better) lives for themselves. To have new opportunities, to live without unnecessary injustices or constant fear, to see the world, to have tangible dreams. There are others out there, like us, who are shy and take time to make good friends. There are others out there with family members who seemingly forget about them. And there are others out there who spent this Christmas by themselves, missing home and those they hold dear. If you are one such person, know that you are not alone. There are others who are experiencing the very same feelings and questioning the same choices. It will get better. Christmas just sucks once in a while. Next year promises to be way better anyway.

On my mind…

Since I started blogging over 2 years ago, I never really had any serious ambitions for Wishful Thinking. I stumbled across some blogs during my interior design course research and thought “hmmm, I could do that” and voila, Wishful Thinking was born. Of course, I underestimated the amount of work a blog takes, the commitment it requires and the creativity it demands but after all these years, I still love blogging. I spend a lot of time meticulously choosing topics that inspire me and about once a year, I spend a few days bickering with Jordan who graciously helps me redesign it. It’s nothing fancy or mind blowing, just my little corner of the internet that I hope people get some enjoyment out of.

So where am I going with all this? Sponsored posts and advertising, that’s where. It’s something that has cropped up periodically over the years. I don’t advertise and I have never done a sponsored post. Not because I am against them per se, but because it was never my intention for my blog to make any money. Sponsored posts, to my mind, can be hard work, they also sometimes deviate from usual blog content. But as you know, on 23rd August, I will suddenly find myself unemployed (in a global recession) as we embark on a rather costly move to pursue our dreams across the globe. Sponsored posts have suddenly become rather appealing. As fate would have it, the opportunity to write one recently appeared in my inbox and, as much as I want to keep my blog ticking over as is, with a hard journey ahead of me, I can no longer ignore the opportunity to put pennies on the table.

I would love to hear your thoughts on sponsored posts and advertising on blogs in general. Is this something you have considered for your blog? Did you agonise about it as much as me or am I being a big girlpants?

The course of true love…

This time last year I was frantically preparing for one of the most important days of my life, our wedding. It’s been an incredible year for us – what with Jordan writing and passing his final exams, endless work pressures and our impending move all the way across the continent, we have not had a lot of time left for each other. I hope this doesn’t come across as negative (because it’s anything but) but it has not been an easy year. Then again, who ever said it would be? Marriage takes patience, understanding and sometimes your undivided attention – all of which are in short supply during periods of doubt and worry. But here we are one year later, going strong and as sappy as it sounds, I feel so incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful man in my life. So tomorrow we down tools and take the day off from worrying about shipping and selling the car, packing boxes and watching the savings dwindle. Tomorrow our day will consist of silly paper gifts, lazing in the sun (yes, I said sun) and then going out for a fancy schmancy meal. In short, we will be making time for each other.

It’s happening…

I woke up yesterday morning with a start. Surrounded by empty walls, an empty bank account and another day closer to August, (pardon my French) but shit just got real for me. The nerves are finally dissipating and I am starting to picture our new lives in Sydney. I’m taking the day off from my usual blogging schedule to do a little happy dance and work on my accent! Normal service will resume tomorrow.

Au Revoir!

Dreams of the Dordogne by Thomas Schaller

I’m heading off again for another adventure, this time to the Dordogne region of France. Think lots of French countryside, wine, cheese and hopefully some sunshine. I somehow managed to perform a miracle and get my crap together to post next week so please stop by and say hello. I am going to be mean and mention this before I go but years of toil and worry finally came to fruition yesterday and we finally got the good news that we have been waiting for. I’ve been a little reluctant to share too much on my blog as I didn’t want to jinx it (some of you already know) but it’s official so I’ll be posting about it when I return. I hope you can bear with me in the meantime, because I am going to be a bit of a little frazzled over the coming months…

A rocky start!

I feel a little guilty. It seems like the whole world has been a little more enthusiastic about the start of 2012 than me. Truth be told, I started the year quite grumpily. Not on purpose though, after a series of unfortunate events (including waking up to gale force winds and driving rain, the front garden was strewn with leftover wrapping paper and Christmas paraphernalia that the foxes kindly left for me to pick up and when I got to work, I proceeded to dump the entire contents of my coffee cup all over my desk), I despaired about my rocky start! But after finally catching up on everyone’s blogs I couldn’t help but feel excited and positive about what’s to come in 2012. There seems to be exciting things on the horizon for certain bloggers and I am very much looking forward to following along and hopefully creating my own exciting news!

Now in totally unrelated news but pertaining to ‘rocks’ nonetheless, is a collection of the most beautiful little stone cottages that I have been dying to share with you all. Shall we?

Click on the image to go to its source.

Been and gone…

Helllllooooo! I’m finally back in the land of the living! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year and are ready to face 2012 with gusto!? I had hoped to post a little bit whilst on holiday but the prospect of lazing about all day watching movies and eating leftovers was much more tempting than sitting in front of the laptop. Does anyone else feel like they need a holiday to get over their holiday? But alas, I am now ready to get back in the swing of things and will be catching up on all your blogging news throughout the course of the week. In the meantime, here is a gentle start with some pics of the festivities over at our house…

All images via Wishful Thinking

Awarding…

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been very fortunate to receive from blog love from a couple of ladies, first from the ever-classy Barbara from Haus Design and then from the very talented green-fingered Starlet from :: Can you Come Home:: If you haven’t already stopped by their blogs, why not? Go on and say hi!

I can’t really remember what I did with my time before blogging but I can’t imagine my life without it. From recipes, to life anecdotes, to crafty home ideas, it never ceases to amaze me how much inspiration is at my fingertips.  Thank you ladies!

So the rules are that I have to share 7 things about myself, here goes:

 Image 1 found here; all others via Pinterest

1. My very first job involved working in a shop directly opposite that beach. That was my view from work, every day.
2. I am renowned for having a ‘fiery’ temper and a mouth that very often gets me into trouble. It’s a blessing and a curse.
3. I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt when I was younger and for many years, I believed I would be a famous historian. Then I realised most of your time is spent down dusty holes… I changed my mind and thought it was best to stick with the History Channel (although I still want to visit)! 
4. Tulips make everything right with the world again.
5. I am absolutely hopeless at maths, worryingly, it seems to be getting worse with age!
6. My dream is to own a shop much like this in the future. I can’t imagine a better job than being surrounded by beautiful things.
7. I can’t pass a dog in the street without stopping to pet them and make kissy faces at them. It might be becoming a problem.

Now I pass the award onto 15 other blogs that inspire me every day (I didn’t count them so there might be more than 15 here but I like to break the rules):

• Jillian – Coffee Light and Sweet
• Colleen – Ordinary Tales
• Lisa – Latte Lisa
• Ada – Classiq
• Kelly – Feathers and Flowers
• Lisa – A Room with a View
• Huckleberry Creative
• Vic – Cush and Nooks
• Jessie – Mix and Chic
• Shannon – 8foot6
• Emily – Design and Nonsense
• Katie – Katie*Belle
• Homestilo
• Abigail – Abigail’s Place
• Gloria – Little White Whale
• Laura – White Winters
• Rachael – A Bug and Bird
• Kate – Travelmoon