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“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie
Let’s get our gratitude on then, shall we?
1. The Dress
The most exciting news to come out of the last week is that I found my dream wedding dress in Melbourne! Cue excited squealing!
I was starting to think I wouldn’t find The One because everything I’d seen hadn’t really been ‘my style’ but then this dress came along and swept me off my feet. Swoon. It’s so true what they say about finding your perfect dress – nothing else compares and you literally cannot stop thinking about it. I can’t wait to show it to you… after our wedding! So mean, I know :O
PS: that’s not my dress above, in case you were wondering.
2. The Best of Friends
I think I’ve told you before how amazing my friends are but I can never shout it from the rooftops enough! I spent the weekend in Melbourne with my best friends Erin (left) and Jess (right) (Megan sadly couldn’t be there because she is about to have her baby!) and I don’t think I can even explain how good these girls make me feel. You know the type of friends that are constantly boosting you up? That’s them.
The beauty of these girls is that they don’t hold back anything – they’re not competitive or selfish in any way, and compliments and love flow freely in their presence. You walk away feeling amazing. They are also some of the funniest people I’ve ever met. Actually, THE funniest. So much love.
3. Shiny New Things
Sunglasses: Hi my name’s Rachel and I’m addicted to buying sunglasses. I. JUST. CAN’T. STOP. Books too, can’t stop buying them either. Help! Anyway, these ones are Runaways by Le Specs and they are Le Special. The perfect addition to my collection.
Shoes: Have you ever been to the shop Green With Envy on Chapel St in Melbourne? They stock the most beautiful designer garments and I always want to buy the whole shop up! I “settled” for a gorgeous pair of Nicholas nude heels this time because, well, I’m meant to be saving my coins for our wedding. A nude heel is a necessity though. Right?
Cuffs: I ordered these gold cuffs from ASOS after seeing them on Mandy from Oracle Fox. Stunning. Might wear these on my birthday – they deserve a special occasion.
6. This Reminder
7. Melbourne
Apart from the aforementioned wedding dress purchase, which of course was the highlight of my weekend, I had THE BEST few days down south. The Problogger event was fantastic and despite not usually being a huge fan of networking (I have endured years of small talk at functions through my job) I loved meeting some gorgeous new people that I know I’ll continue to keep in touch with. The blogging world really is a beautiful community – everyone is super helpful and willing to have a chat.
The girls and I also had a very funny night out at a new Tiki bar club called The LuWow in Fitzroy on Friday night, where we danced, revelled in the amazing Polynesian-style decor and drank cocktails with weird monkey figurines on them (we had some fun with these guys!).
Saturday was all about the dress, a bit of shopping on Chapel St, drinks at the Carlton Club and a night at The Blackman hotel which I highly recommend, and Sunday we had breakfast in St Kilda with another one of my dear friends at a cool cafe called the Galleon Cafe. We may or may not have also come up with a brilliant business idea that morning and let’s just say, our laughter wasn’t very ‘contained.’ Amazing weekend!
8. Interview on Stuff I Like
Linda from Stuff I Like was kind enough to interview me for her ‘Nosy Nine’ feature recently and my mug is now up on her site. Eep! Go and check it out, she has some fantastic articles – I particularly love her posts on skincare, super informative.
9. Words of Wisdom
All about inspiring quotes this week! It’s no secret I’m a big fan, and I really enjoyed this one from Ralph Marston’s The Daily Motivator:
You don’t have to prove anything to anybody. You don’t have to live in fear of what others might think.
You don’t have to continue holding on to the negative habits and thought patterns that have held you back.
You don’t have to keep living under the outdated assumptions that have closed your eyes to some of the best possibilities.
You don’t have to weigh yourself down with anger, resentment, fear or frustration.
You don’t have to settle for less than the very best you can be.
You can live, you can give, you can love and achieve.
You can take this very moment, with whatever it may hold, and transform it into a positive, enriching, fulfilling experience.
You can feel the truth and beauty of your authentic purpose, and take action to follow that purpose.
You can let go of all the burdens you’ve imposed on yourself, and live this day with a powerful, newfound appreciation for all you have.
You can choose right now to meet each challenge with positive passion and enthusiasm for the best, most meaningful possibilities.
You can choose, again and again, to truly live life on your own best terms.
Other juicy bits:
+ New blogs goals + coming home to find my fiance had done the major wardrobe clean out I’d been putting off for ages (yes!) + pulling together inspiration for our wedding invites and website + almost finishing the Michael Jackson bio (awesome book!) + making silly videos on our Lumix + hot, hawt heat + moving offices at work (I’ll soon be 10 minutes closer to home) + celebrating my friend’s successes + mantras + LOVE.
+ What’s rocking your world right now? I’d love to hear all about it!
Images: 1. A beautiful thing is never perfect 2. Style Me Pretty 3. A Well Traveled Woman 4. India Rose
Firstly can I just start with this……… BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! (Thats me inserting hysterical laughter)!
As usual when I read “whats making you happy”, it makes me happy! Especially when I get to see how happy you feel after a nice weekend in Melbourne with us!
I am very happy to know that there will be at least three more dress fittings, so that means there can be at least three more weekends of fun in Melbourne with miss Jess, & this time with Miss Megan and the new little lady we will have arriving soon! YAY!
An inspiration as always Rach! At least once a week I am printing out some words of Wisdom to stick up at my desk to remind me of just how good life is on those stressful days where things sometimes feel a bit too much.
SOOOOOOO MUCH LOVE!
Erin xoxoxoxo
Thank you my love, I’m so lucky to have you! Can’t wait for our next Melbourne adventure, waaay too much fun had last time :) xxx
yay Melbourne! I always walk by green with envy…and get, well, green with envy because it’s all so beautiful and yet not exactly in a travel-blogger-who-is-about-to-quit-her-day-job’s budget! And The Galleon is my fave brekky/brunch spot in St Kilda–nice choice. Glad you enjoyed your weekend!
Once again, you have inspired, entertained, cheered (and distracted, just a little) me with your beautiful words about what makes you happy (which in turn, always makes me think about what is making me happy – a nice weekly reminder)! Your appetite for the beauty in life makes my heart soar and encourages me to do the same. once again, thank you for what you do – it means the world to me! xoxo
What is making me happy this week:
1. An deep and profound appreciation for how short and unpredictable life is: My stepdad had a stroke on Monday afternoon and it has changed my family’s future very suddenly. It makes me realise just how much I care for some people and I want them to know it everyday…
2. Super girly & floaty white/cream/peach tops from Forever New: I went a bit crazy last week (ahem, $600 later…) and bought as many of these as possible…and white dresses, for some reason I bought a lot of those too…
3. My new MacBook Air: It’s true love, I tell you xxx
4. My best girls: As you said, friends who send out constantly flowing love and light – I couldn’t get by without my girls…
5. Instagram: Ahhhh, my newest passion (ok, maybe addiction is a better word). Everything looks better in Instagram! Loving editing photos right now…
Have a fabulous week, Rach! And thanks again for the pick-me-up! xo
Aw, thanks for the mention Rachel. I really enjoyed our interview and thanks again for letting us get to know you a bit better. xx
I know Christine, that place is very tempting! It was swarming with girls over the weekend… no doubt looking for amazing Melbourne Cup dresses. xx
Shanny: Wow, what a beautiful comment, thank you thank you! I’m so sorry to hear about your stepdad and I hope he pulls through OK. It’s insane how life can change in an instant and definitely makes us appreciate the moments and characters that make up this story we call life.
Love Instagram too, I was resistant at first because I thought all the filters were TOO overprocessed but I love some of the new ones that were added in the update a month or so ago.
YAY! xxx
Linda: thank YOU for featuring me! It was heaps of fun! xx
I love that quote! Exactly what I need right now.
Hi lovely ladies! Rach – SO chuffed for you. I’ve no doubt that the dress will be a knockout!! Such a special dress, and you deserve the best!
Making me happy this week is what myself and my friends have deemed K.I.S.S (keeping it sweet & simple) Usually around this time of year with work etc… things can begin to spiral and you can lose your footing. Never cool. So last week and this week I have been concentrating on keeping it sweet and simple. Learning to say NO more, and saying Yes to the things I really want to do rather than what I feel I should be doing. And the result is a very happy Jenn.
I’m loving the Autumn Craft markets at the moment. I picked up some beautiful chucky statement necklaces & the cutest Halloween decorations at the weekend.
The DIY Goddess in me went bananas when I found these two blogs – http://www.ohhappyday.com and http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/. A-MAZING! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!
And finally making me happy are little trips away to visit friends! I’m heading to Scotland at the weekend to visit one of my besties Emma (beautiful girl) & I hope to meet up with a friend who I haven’t seen in 5 years because your gorgeous country lured him away! hahaha So yea, CAN’T WAIT!
Hope you all have another fab week!! Love vibes your way : )
Jenn xoxo
You made me very exciting looking up all those places in Melbourne to visit, its gonna take me years to see everything!
im grateful for having a job I love, living in an amazing city, little moments of nothingness when I can sit and read blogs without a care in the world and all the people in my life :)
xx
Thanks Katherine and Ashley, appreciate you both stopping by and glad you loved the quote Katherine!
Ashley, love what you say about having moments where you can just chill and do something that makes you happy… that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?! xx
Do those gold cuffs remind anyone else of Wonder Woman? Awe-some!!
Congrats on finding the perfect dress, I cannot wait to see stunning pictures of you wearing it after the big day. :)
Thank goodness Melbourne treated you well, hopefully you’ll be back soon.
I’m loving quiet time (no matter how scarce), leaving financial worries behind (for now), amazing emails about the eBook (so lucky), fresh summer fruits and SLEEP! xx
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