Thursday 27 February 2014

Monthly Snapshots | February (2)

Instagram - @sambam

A snapshot of my comings and goings.
  1. Bought some beautiful tea and spent an evening by myself enjoying its aromatic flavours 
  2. We fostered this little guy for a couple of days. His name was Boots and we loved him so. He got adopted by a beautiful family and I pray he is having the time of his life there.
  3. Floral Fridays began. Read more here.
  4. Went to the Grounds of Alexandria for breakfast with Stephen. That place is wonderful. If you're in Sydney, look it up!
  5. Our good friends got engaged and we spent the night celebrating with them. Stephen and I love being around others in love.
  6. Afternoon delights = Frankie magazine, GIRLS and power naps. 
  7. Happy Valentines Day. Rep lippy was definitely the way to go
  8. Mexican feasts with my babe of a friend. We talk like adults and it makes me feel old and wise. I love her.
  9. Summer is slowly leaving us. The rains came and so did the cool breeze but as they faded away they left behind this faint yet beautiful rainbow. Another one of His precious miracles.
What has been the highlight of your week so far?

Monday 24 February 2014

Mountain Dreams

We headed down to Leura that morning.

We wanted to be with each other for a couple of hours before we headed off to our social affairs. Time together can get pretty scarce these days. We work during the week and have to see our families and friends in the time we have off. Adventures featuring just him and I are limited.

As we drove, the city air faded away and the clean crispness of the mountains revealed itself and washed against our faces. The sun peeked out behind the clouds every so often revealing a blue mountain haze in the horizon. Again, I was left in awe of this beautiful country.

We ventured around the town, stopping for some french toast and coffee and losing ourselves in among the vintage trinkets at the markets. We took a walk down a deserted path which I was sure led to a magical place. We didn't make it to the end. I think it was never ending; perhaps a spell cast upon it by magical creatures to keep intruders like us out.

So we headed to the lookout instead and stared upon the blue. We talked about how we would like to own a home here one day, a place we could bring our children, a place where we could explore, which we could call our own.

"...can we make that happen?" I asked

"I will make sure of it" He replied, kissing my forehead.
P.s Happy 100th post to me!

Friday 21 February 2014

Bosom Friend

"Marilla," she demanded presently, "do you think that I shall ever have a bosom friend in Avonlea?"

"A--a what kind of friend?"

"A bosom friend--an intimate friend, you know--a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul.  I've dreamed of meeting her all my life.  I never really supposed I would, but so many of my loveliest dreams have come true all at once that perhaps this one will, too.  Do you think it's possible?"

- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Montgomery

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I used to watch that movie on repeat when I was younger. I would rush home from school on a Friday afternoon, drop my bag on the floor and sit in front of the VCR cabinet (yes VCR!) and wonder what movie I would watch that night. Anne always was drawn to my fingertips. While the others lay in their place, forming a light layer of dust, Anne was already ready to go.

The quote above used to always make me giggle. Bosom friend. It's such a funny term. One which I never really understood when I was younger, one which I just assumed meant a good friend or pal. But it's much more than that isn't it? It doesn't mean just having a few random friends who you catch up for coffee with once in a way or who you 'fit into your schedule'. No, these are people who truly know and understand you and yearn to be around you, to help and care for you. They are people who you want to see rather than have to see.

They are rare souls and are hard to acquire. I don't even know if I can say I have a 'bosom friend'. Stephen is basically mine but I don't know if he counts cause we're dating....does he? Not sure.

My friends are amazing though and I love them so. Each of them makes me feel alive and loved in a different way. Together they form one complete person who I would happily call my bosom friend and perhaps that is what is so great about them. I don't have one great friend but many good friends who bring out the best in me in so many ways.

I don't really know what point I was trying to make here. I guess I just wanted to remind you of the people that are closest to you, the people who choose to love you even if you don't always love them back. The people who make you feel alive and wanted and renewed. The people who you know will always be there.

Do you have a 'bosom friend'? Are they a partner, a parent, a child or just an awesome person you met in high school? What makes them so amazing?

Thanks to Genna and Lauren for modelling for me.

Monday 17 February 2014

Inspired: Let it Snow

I awoke with a light spray of sweat across my brow, my throat was dry and my body felt heavy. One of my legs was hanging off the mattress, the other was wrapped under the sheet like a coccoon, trapped from the summer air trying to reach it. The fan above me creeked at every 3rd rotation, an ever-so-slight noise that disrupted my dreams the night before. And that mosquito, my arch nemesis, who always found my exposed ear and hovered past at unanticipated moments.

Australian summer is wonderful at times but it can come at a cost.

These last few weeks I have been dreaming of a winter I will never have here in Australia. I dream of little white particles falling from the sky into my suburban home, cooling the surface of the pool until it turns to ice. I dream of an open fireplace and hot cups of cocoa and warm socks that have grips on the bottom so I don't slip on the tiles like I always do. I dream of blowing on the glass and watching my breathe blur the scene in front of me before I continue to draw a snowflake where it once lay.

I know much of the Northern Hemisphere is wishing for warmer weather right now, but a selfish part of me wishes that I could have that weather, that snow for just one day. If just for one day of the year, Australia could have constant snowfall. Everyone could take a day off from school or work and be with their families and build snowmen and relive memories that only existed in their dreams.

Oh what a precious moment that would be. If only.
^^ source: somewhere in my Pinterest boards

Friday 14 February 2014

Love is...

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13

Happy Valentines Day to you all - single, dating, married, whomever. You all deserve to love and be loved, today and everyday.

So please tell someone you love them today, friend, parent, child, lover. Tell them how much they mean to you, tell them that their needs comes before yours and tell them that they have a purpose, a purpose found in the love you have for them

xxx

Tuesday 11 February 2014

I'm featured on.... || We Resolve & AMHE

Today I wandered off to the beautiful blogs of Nate and Lucy at We Resolve and Mandi's All My Happy Endings

On We Resolve, I am talking all things romantic and at All My Happy Endings, I am discussing photography and how to capture those beautiful moments shared between a family.

Go and check it out.

Happy Tuesday!

x
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Monday 10 February 2014

Just laugh and let it go

After a lovely weekend and a productive Monday, I seem to only have the energy to conjure up a few short sentences for this post. My eyes are heavy, my body is drained and, as the sun falls behind the horizon, I feel myself fading away into a sweet sleep.

Sometimes you don't need to write everything that is going on in your mind. Sometimes it just won't make sense to everyone else. Sometimes it should remain only with you. Sometimes you just have to laugh and let it go.

I hope you all will have a wonderful week. For now I am off to close my eyes and listen to the gentle sounds of Old Man Canyon.

Update: This wasn't supposed to be one of those sad, whiny posts, I don't really know what it is supposed to be...maybe just another reminder to rest more and laugh more and not feel the pressure of having to write a lengthy blog post every couple of days. Who knows? Stay real all of you!





Friday 7 February 2014

Floral Friday - Something Romantic

February. The sun is warm and the days are long. The new year is just settling in and slowly my weekly routine starts to take shape. I am reminded that Valentines Day is just around the corner and I can't help but roll my eyes at the consumerist nature of everyone/everything around me.

I know the meaning of the day is forever lost with most of society. True love seems to only be bought. Whether it is a diamond necklace, a 5 course dinner or a holiday to the Hunter Valley, Valentines Day has become a consumerist smorgasbord for couples to show off their relationship status to the world in the fanciest way possible.

Me? I'm more simple than that. I don't believe in Valentines Day. I don't believe in picking one day of the year to show more love to your partner. You should me loving you partner more and more everyday, rather than one day of the year. Furthermore, this day shouldn't be spent just with your partner. It is not solely about that type of love alone. To me, the day should be spent loving everyone that is close to you - loving your family, your friends and even passersby. 


If I were to choose a flower to recieve on Valentines Day however, I would choose the Dahlia. Not only is it's name so beautiful but its grace and elegance stands out to me. Walking through the local florist I was immediately drawn to its bold colours and its ability to look more beautiful alone that in a bunch. A solitary Dahlia is so beautiful and romantic to me. I then found out that the Dahlia symbolises an eternal bond between two people - how much more romantic can you get. Eternal love is something that cannot be broken and cannot be tarnished. It holds true forevermore and stands strong all the days of your life - not just on February 14th. How amazing.

So next week, on Valentines Day, I hope you will be showered with love from everyone around you. I pray, however, that this love will continue to be shared with you all year round and that you will continue to love others more and more everyday. I mean, that is what we need in life after all - just a little bit of love.

***Floral Fridays is a monthly photography project with different themes each month. This series is about fun and taking time out to smell the flowers. To play along, please email Trishie (trishie@underlockandkeyblog. com) for next month's theme or visit her here

Click on the pictures below to check out some other Floral Friday posts for this month!

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Time to Rest

As the steam rises out from the pot, the aroma fills my senses and I can finally begin to wind down from a long day at work.

These moments are so precious to me. I am not yet married, nor a mother, nor a business owner and yet I can already feel the burdens of adult life weighing down on my shoulders. My anxiety comes and goes, day by day, but I must crusade through the mud to get to that sunlit field waiting for me. I know it's there.

That hour after I get home can be my absolute favourite. I kick off my shoes, throw my heavy bag onto the floor and massage my shoulders where those thick straps once lay. I boil some water, infuse some of the most beautiful flavours and relax in my own presence.

How often do you take time to rest? and I don't mean going to bed early, I mean scheduling in an hour or two of your day to switch off from work, social media, friends and family and rather spend time with just you; to absorb in all your thoughts from the day, to meditate, to release all the negative energy and to simply...

....breathe.

Monday 3 February 2014

Monthly Snapshots - February

Instagram - @sambam

A snapshot of my comings and goings.
  1. My belated Christmas present. A polished steel, white face, vegetable tan strap watch courtesy of The Horse. I am in love, there is no other word to describe it. I don't ever want to take it off.
  2. Gordon's Bay with beautiful people. There is no better feeling than finally being able to submerse myself into the ocean for the first time this summer. 
  3. Ben and Jerry's icecream makes any night alone perfect
  4. Spent some down time reading in the afternoon light
  5. Public holidays are such a blessing to people who work. I miss university life.
  6. Fixed a crappy day with a not-so-crappy iced mocha and an encouraging best friend
  7. Happy Birthday to one of my other beautiful best friends. That photo is a throwback from my 'scene' days
  8. Said farewell to last week with a beautiful sunset in the country
  9. Woke up the next morning with some roosters and some goats. We got along quite swimmingly.
p.s. Happy February to one and all. Can't believe summer is almost over!