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January 31, 2013

blog love fest


The fab photos (and a cute video too!) from my amazing weekend helping out Bri from Design Love Fest and Angela at Blogshop Sydney are finally live - check them out!

January 29, 2013

australia day

I have little belief in the Australian weather forecasting system. They never seem to get it right so when our Australia Day camping weekend showed rain in the forecast, it did little to deter me from packing our bags and heading down the coast. I was ready for lazy summer nights just hanging around the campsite, some good food, a few laughs and perhaps a board game or two. The forecast predicted heavy rain but I didn’t believe them, they never get this shit right. Well this time they did.
 

The first day and a half were camping perfection – blue skies, a slight breeze, plenty of cold beer and bbq’s galore. There was even a country fair with wood chopping and carni rides to top off the holiday experience. It was somewhere close to midnight when the rain began, slowly at first and then continuing for hours into a thunderous roar.  It was only when I reached the across the tent and felt a puddle of water did a realise that perhaps it's wise to sometimes listen to the weather report.

Rather than risk another wet night we packed up early and headed home, stopping in Berry on the way for some amazing food and a bit of shopping. Later that night, to continue in the holiday spirit, we drank champagne and cooked up a seafood feast- the perfect, drizzly end to a wet and wonderful weekend away.

p.s - these pics are my first attempt at keeping my camera on manual - eek!

January 24, 2013

the idea factory

Throughout my entire trip to Vietnam, I waited for that light bulb moment.

I waited for a burst of creativity, a spark of energy to finish projects left behind and that long awaited 'aha' moment...a moment that never came. It seems that my mind and body had other plans for my holiday...they wanted to relax. So that's what we did. For three blissful weeks I let it go. My plans to read my camera manual from cover to cover never happened, the stack of books remained unread and blog posts unwritten.  Instead I made a real effort to be in the moment, which truth be told I found extremely difficult. I'm someone who is constantly planning, plotting, thinking of the next step, the next move and really focusing on what was happening around me was a strange but wonderful challenge.

What it meant was that I came home feeling rested and ready. The start of the new year always feels like a clean slate, ready for new goals and lists. It's a time for ideas, for scheming up big plans, for dreaming and for diving in.  And I'm ready to dive in. I've got lots of goals and plans for 2013 and it's already off to a crazy and hectic start. Perhaps this is the year to thrive in chaos? Whatever is ahead, I look forward to the constant, joyful struggle of living in the moment.

What are your goals for 2013?

January 20, 2013

birthday girl

Last weekend I turned 34.

We celebrated with flowers, a lazy morning in bed, a trip to the beach, an amazing collection of mags, messages from home and later, lots of red wine.  I'm a lucky lady.  It was simple and lovely...birthday perfection.  

I like sound of 34. For starters I love even numbers and something about it sounds grounded, full of possibility and yes, frightfully grown up. The very number itself has sparked a desire to take action, to get things moving and while my blogging routine as all but gone away, my heart is full of love and my brain is bursting with ideas for the year ahead. Fingers crossed, I think it's going to be a good one.

January 15, 2013

phu quoc island


We ended the holiday on a high note, lounging on the deserted beaches of Phu Quoc island. A little slice of paradise, this tropical island was magical: clear blue waters, fishing shacks, fresh seafood, cheap drinks, massages on the beach and an easy escape to deserted coastlines. As the end of the holiday drew near, we soaked up as much sun as possible, enjoyed some pretty incredible sunsets and sat back and considered how lucky we had been to have experienced such an amazing trip. Vietnam was everything I expected and more...

January 14, 2013

miss saigon

After leaving Hoi An we moved south, enjoying 3 scorching days in Saigon, mesmerised by the size of the city and endless flow of traffic. We immersed ourselves in the history of the city, the sad and stark realities of war, the hard to fathom maze of Cu Chi tunnels, a glimpse of village life in the Mekong Delta and rang in 2013 surrounded by thousands of people gathering in the street to watch the fireworks explode above the Saigon river - it was pretty incredible (the night itself and the fact we actually stayed awake until midnight)...

January 13, 2013

Hoi An


After the fast, chaotic pace of the city, Hoi An was a welcome and wonderful change. We spent five blissful days, including Christmas, enjoying this colourful town that felt stuck in time. Cheap drinks, cheap suits, lantern festivals, beach days, motorbike adventures in the country side - we didn't want to leave.

January 11, 2013

halong bay


A few years back I spent some time working for a travel company in Boston, planning people's trips and living vicariously through their stories. One place that always topped my list was Halong Bay and I have to say it lived up to every expectation. Yes, the weather was cold and grey but that kind of added to the mystery of the place and we enjoyed 2 nights cruising around, kayaking, exploring caves, late night card games and just staring out at the thousands of tiny islands that seemed to go on for miles. We met some great people on board and woke up on Christmas eve morning to a bit of sunshine which made the place all the more beautiful...

January 10, 2013

the city that never sleeps

I never got sick of Hanoi, there was always something to look at.

It served as our base for the first portion of our trip and I was always mesmerised by the city itself and the constant stream of motorbikes, sights, sounds, food, smells, color - you never knew where to look. We spent a lot of early mornings just walking around the city, getting blisters, drinking coffee, crouching down on plastic stools and drinking too much cheap beer.  We toured the museums, witnessed tai chi and the mararena being done at dawn around the lake, splashed out in style in the French Quarter and truth be told, toured the shit out of Hanoi. I loved it.

January 9, 2013

sapa


First, let me apologise for the lengthy absence and wish you all a happy new year!  Our quick travel pace meant an unexpected break from bloggging and truth be told it was great to leave the computer behind and just enjoy our holiday. It was incredible and I've got about 4 million photos to prove it so for the next few days I'll be posting some belated holiday pics - firstly to help document our trip when in a few months it seems like a distant memory and secondly just looking at them helps to overcome the post holiday blues I'm experiencing at the moment...back to reality.

We left Hanoi on the overnight train, heading to the stunning mountain village of Sapa, in the northern part of the country just 3km from China. After a restless night on the train, we arrived at 5am to a drizzly, cold mountain morning, visibility zero. Since our hotel wasn't ready and the village was quiet we layered up and set out walking around trying to warm up by drinking countless cups of strong Vietnamese coffee. Despite the weather, we had a great time taking in the sights and fell in love with the slow pace compared to the craziness that is Hanoi. The rest of the day we napped under electric blankets and got a glimpse of sun in the afternoon showing us the incredible views of the valley below.  Luckily the next morning was a beautiful cloudless day and we trekked down into the H'mong and Dzao Villages and sat speechless at the views around us.  That night we got the train back to Hanoi, wishing we had more time to spend in Sapa...
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