flaxton gardens

These photos were taken at Flaxton Gardens on the Sunshine Coast; we went there over the weekend to celebrate my sister's bridal shower and I must say, it was definitely one of the most beautiful locations I've ever taken photos at. The staff were absolutely lovely and the food and champagne was exquisite - particularly in presentation! I'm ridiculously excited for the actual wedding - mainly because my sister's and I are the bridemaids for Rosey and our dresses are currently in the works and the preparation is slowly (but surely!) coming together. I've been to quite a few weddings already this year and I've decided they are my absolute favourite event to attend. Everything from the romantic atmosphere in general, to the exchanging of vows makes for such a special and important reminder of how much we humans need love and devotion. I've always wanted to get married and I do think I will  one day, it's just odd to think of at the moment. I wonder if I'll still be running this blog when I do exchange vows with that poor, poor man! (Just kidding, he'd be the luckiest (and also most patient) man in the world, ha!)

white picket fence

Somehow we've managed to reach Spring already and somehow I've devoured three strawberry punnets in one day. The way I see it is that I may as well eat as many as I can now while they're still in season and I can get away with it because a) they make my skin glow, b) they whiten your teeth (apparently...) and c) they're kinda amazing taste-wise... but then again, there really isn't a fruit I won't eat. Speaking of skin, a few of you have been asking me about roaccutane and whether I'm still on it etc. The answer is yes, I'm taking about 60mg a week (which is one 20mg capsule on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) just to keep any acne at bay. It's amazing looking back on the improvement in my skin since 2013. I'm still very prone to congestion on my forehead and my chin but the dosage my dermatoglist has prescribed for me has been extremely effective in keeping my skin clear which = an extremely happy young lady who relishes in going makeup-free most days! 

Tess and I took these photos last week on a relatively bleak day while I was visiting home. We went on a little adventure trying to find the perfect backdrop for the photos and, of course, I ended up taking a wrong turn and we were halfway up the Blackall Range tourist drive until I realised where we were headed. It was pouring with rain, there was roadworks everywhere and the road was slippery  - a recipe for disaster! So, Tessie decided to listen to the dulcet tones of the Beach Boys and their slower sounds to remedy the situation while I stuck to an average 40km/h speed all the way down the mountain range. In the end, we rounded a corner on the way home to reveal the perfect picket fence framed with red blossoms and the clouds had miraculously parted to reveal lots of pink and orange filtered sunlight. We even got a rainbow! 

heart-shaped face

Good morning! Or afternoon (or even evening, wherever you're reading this from). I'm currently sitting at my desk, sipping at my third cup of tea for the morning from a giant teapot that reminds me of a prop from Beauty and the Beast. I'm looking into different career pathways at the moment - I'm still a little unsure of what I would like to do, and as much as I enjoy being out of university, as I said in my last post, it would be nice to have some element of direction! I love the idea of working in hospital admin because I enjoy working with people and helping them with their problems (social work too) so at the moment I'm considering various courses through Tafe via online or internal study. Floristry, photography and all things creative are what I'm naturally good at and always seem to be drawn to, but I feel like they are nothing more than remnants of a pipe dream - or at least until I can get myself feeling financially stable. I'll keep you updated though - it's weird that I've been doing this since before I was a teenager, now I'm in my 20s! It's a little surreal going through the archives on this blog and I'm so glad I documented a lot of my "growing up" process because it's such a beautiful thing and there's so much I would have forgotten had I not taken a photo of it, or dramatically recaptured it for my blog, ha! 

Before I head off, here's a playlist I've made for the month of September - it's a bit premature (since we're only on the last day of August), but, regardless, I promise that if you have good taste in music, you'll love every song on it ;) A few standouts if you don't wanna just press "shuffle" would be Arty Boy, Let Me Down Easy, Water Flow and That's What You Get. Enjoy listening!   

homegrown

I don't remember requesting so much time off from work but it was a pleasant surprise opening my roster to see that I had four days to do whatever I wanted! This morning I had brekky with my friend Ellie at a cafe called "The Jam Pantry" in South Brisbane and despite the coffee being slightly burnt (after visiting Brown Dog cafe in Woolloongabba numerous times, I've come to the conclusion that their baristas and coffee blend are the best in Brisbane and no other cafe can compare), the food was  absolutely lovely and because I actually stuck to the gluten free options I didn't leave the place feeling like my stomach was going to explode. Also! Didn't get a parking fine today too which is also a massive bonus. After getting a well overdue haircut in West End I drove to the Sunshine Coast listening to The Last Shadow Puppets and Methyl Ethel the whole way there. My friend Dan introduced me to TLSP and I've become obsessed with their sound ("Miracle Aligner" is a personal favourite).

It was really nice getting back into some photography and editing today too - as always, Tess took my photos and, again, surprised me with how well she knows how to work the settings on the camera and hoisting up her bossy boots in order for us to get the photo just right ("No, don't stand there, the lighting is terrible!", "Your pants look weird, fix them", "Oh that's good, do that pose and stand still again"). I really miss how much blogging used to be such a massive part of my life back when I used to live on the coast. Every afternoon after school I would dedicate hours of my time to get different photos, research new products and work on new ideas for what I would post during exams and busy periods. A part of me wonders what it would have come to if I had stuck with it full time like a lot of bloggers do and I hope one day to be able to do that, as this does make me so happy.  It's a hobby that leaves me with that wonderful feeling of fulfilment. Kinda the same feeling when I eat Mum's chocolate slice, or when petrol is less than a $1.10 per litre, ya know? 

I hope you're all doing well and the weather where you are is as beautiful as it is here! We didn't get much of a Winter in Queensland this year but you really can't complain when you wake up to such beautiful temperatures every day and all the flowers are blooming everywhere.