my photos – Page 2 – Rachel MacDonald

Making Me Happy

28 September, 2011

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realise it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it.”
~Mother Teresa

1. Life Reset

I’m LOVING the Life Reset and can’t wait to hear how you’re going!

It’s been so interesting to do this detox and watch how my body reacts to certain foods and the flow on effect that has on my mood. My parents came over for dinner on Saturday night and I roasted up some of the sweet potato we had in the fridge for them, and ended up tossing it through the salad we all ate. Potato is on the “don’t eat” list for the Clean program and the next morning both Ramai and I felt like we were seriously hungover. Really strange, we went from feeling super energetic on Saturday to flat and foggy-headed on Sunday and the potato was the only thing we could trace it back to.

This week has been all about clean eating again and although I’m quite tired (late nights and just one of those weeks) I’m determined to stick to the program until next weekend. I’ve been really craving baked eggs and to be honest, I have felt like chocolate once or twice this week when I’ve been busy at work. It’s given me an insight into when I crave sugar – firstly it’s when I haven’t eaten enough protein or I don’t have snacks handy like almonds or avocado, but mainly, it’s when I’m overwhelmed with everything that’s on my plate and want a “treat” to feel better. The lesson from all this is that it’s imperative have nuts/ trail mix on hand to keep my blood sugars level and I also need to really focus on having my protein (chicken, fish, quinoa) to keep my energy stable so I don’t search for chocolate to boost me up.

If you’re keen to what some of the other lovely ‘Life Resetters’ are doing, visit Claire’s site, Sian’s site, Kimberley’s site and Jasmine’s site.

2. New sheets

Note: Image is from here, not our room but I wish it was!

Is there anything better than new sheets? We traded in our old white ones which had been destroyed by a nasty pen leak and remnants of self-tanner for a new dark blue/ grey version over the weekend and although I was a bit dubious at first, I’ve grown to like the new darker palette in our bedroom. Our sheets are so soft and snuggly I could stay in bed all day. Ahh…

3. Honeymoon daydreams

In amongst all the wedding planning that’s going on at the moment (met with the florist yesterday which was fantastic, and going through things with the caterer on the phone today so it’s all progressing nicely) I’ve been daydreaming about our honeymoon constantly this week. We’re definitely going to Italy and will have a few days in London, but the other spots we’re yet to decide. Perhaps Croatia, Turkey… any must-sees over that way that you can recommend?

4. Morning Walks

Sometimes it’s nice to balance the more intense cardio exercise I do with a casual stroll, which is what I did yesterday, iPhone in hand. I meandered through Burleigh Heads National Park, snapping a few photos and really taking it all in, which was ultra-relaxing and nice and grounding. There’s definitely something to be said about slowing down.

5. Body Attack

On Saturday morning, the morning I was able to eat proper food again after my juice cleanse, I decided to hit the gym for my first Body Attack class in a loooooong time. I’d forgotten how much fun it can be to jump around the room like a maniac to crazy techno music at 8am! Definitely going to get back into Attack, it gives me the biggest endorphin rush for the day and I was pretty sore the day after – which can only mean good things!

6. Design Sponge

It arrived! Can’t wait to pore over the pages of this book, and if it’s anywhere near as inspiring as the Design*Sponge website, I know I’m going to love it. Have you got a copy yet?

7. Old Booth

Oh my god, I’m obsessed with the Old Booth iPhone app! Stuff like this really appeals to me on so many levels and instead of blogging last night (“sitting at the computer pretending to blog”) I spent at least two hours playing around with all the funny faces and hairstyles. I think Cougar Town in the top left has a crush on one of the Brady Bunch in the bottom right. Meow.

8. Healthy Snacks

Kale chips and homemade hummus = the perfect detox snack! I’m majorly into kale chips – they taste amazing and to make them I just brush the leaves with olive oil, place in the oven for around 20 minutes and sprinkle with a liberal amount of salt before chowing down. YUM. The hummus was made by blending sesame seeds (that had been soaked for 2 hours), paprika, olive oil, lemon juice and chickpeas in the food processor. It tastes a bit different to your regular processed hummus (less thick) but really yummy on rice crackers, topped with some kale!

9. Friendship and Words of Encouragement

I’ve been blessed with some beautiful words of encouragement this week that have made me feel so insanely grateful for the people in my life and their ability to share the beauty of their spirits with the people around them. When talking about my ‘dream work set-up’ this morning, my friend reminded me that I was already travelling along the path I wanted to be on, and every day I was taking big steps towards that dream. It’s so nice to hear that from someone else, especially when you know how geniune they are and how much they believe in you. Super touching, those types of comments are guarded like treasures in your mind, don’t you think?

Today I want to spread some big love along to you all and tell you this:

You are glorious… and you are closer than you think. Persist, make every day worth living, see the good in people around you and see the good in yourself. Grow, grow, grow and keep moving forward. Remember your big dream. And most importantly, remind yourself often that once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen!

Additional Awesomeness:

+ Dogs – I love their funny little personalities and I love the way dog owners talk about their pets like they’re human, cracks me up! + A friend’s ‘Caught Nude in the Sauna’ incident + Our wedding plans flowing smoothly + Girly catch ups + Reminding myself of my word and my mantras + That feeling that comes as the year starts to draw to a close (plus birthday anticipation, yay!) + listening to New Kids on the Block and half-cringing, half-loving it… ‘Uh uh oh oh oh, the right stuff!’ + Pears + Instagram + Getting excited about how big and delicious 2012 is going to be + Sarah Wilson’s new e-book on quitting sugar, can’t wait to read this!

+ Spill those shimmering love beans, what’s thrilling you at the moment?

Images: 1. Pinterest 2. The Lane 3. Sparkle Esquire

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Making Me Happy

14 September, 2011

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.

People are going back and forth across the door sill
Where the two worlds touch.

The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.

~ Rumi (one of the greatest poets in the history of the world!)

1. Life Reset

If you follow In Spaces Between on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll have seen that I’m kicking off the second round of the In Spaces Between Life Reset next Monday. I’ve chatted to a few of you about this and the vibe I’m getting is that you’re jump-out-of-your-skin excited to take deliberate action and make a few noticeable changes to your health and outlook on life – which is awesome news, because so am I!

For those of you that aren’t quite sure what I’m talking about:

When my blog first started I ran a Life Reset Week, during which I changed up my diet, got consistent with meditation and taking “time out” and made a conscious effort to revamp my exercise routine. The premise was two-fold: 1. Instead of drifting along and making vague statements like “I should probably eat less sugar this week,” I made a few bold declarations and made a commitment to a seven day reset for my mind, body and soul 2. I publicly announced that I was doing the reset, which held me accountable, and I’m sure you know that accountability is a fabulous motivator!

So that was last time, but this time, we’re going BIGGER and BETTER! We’re going to go for a 21 day reset and over that time, I’m going to be doing the Clean Program detox (special thanks to my old friend Gwyneth Paltrow for inspiring this… haha!), as well as really honing in on the things that bring me untold joy: pilates, getting out in nature, meditation, reading, writing, quality time, taking photos and most importantly, interacting with YOU and sharing stories on how your reset is going! How does that sound?

I’ll talk about this more on Monday but I wanted to let you know now so that you can spend this week thinking of the areas you’d like to focus on if you’ll be joining us (fingers crossed you will) and getting prepared. Pumped!

2. Zara

I hit the shops in a mad rush on Saturday morning in Sydney before the wedding we were down there for (which was beautiful, so genuine and totally infused with the bride and groom’s personalities – truly a joy to witness!) I felt like I was running around in circles in Pitt St Mall until finally deciding on a silk skirt from Witchery, chunky (high) black wedges and a gorgeous tailored white jacket from Zara, that you can kinda sorta see above. It’s mid-thigh length and I love it!

3. Crazy face masks

I can’t speak highly enough of these masks – firstly because they’re a total steal at $10 for 3, and secondly, because they hydrate my skin more than any other product I’ve ever used. I’ve made a vow that I will always have a few of these in my beauty cupboard (even though they make me look like Jason from the Halloween movies). Scary looking (evidence here) but definitely effective!

4. Sydney wedding fun!

I’ll post the rest of the pics once I get a chance to go through them (we got a bit snap-happy!) but here are a few from Sydney on the weekend. I predicted the bride Nikki would wear a short, lace dress and I was right – it even had a big tutu underneath. Totally her. Such a fantastic weekend away with great friends. Have I mentioned how much I adore travelling?! Refreshed and recalibrated.

5. New books

A stack of new books are adorning my bedside table (alongside four new mags) including Breakthrough: 8 Steps to Wellness, I Thought It Was Just Me, Clean and Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper. Have nearly finished the last one (awesome – love SARK!) and I’m aiming to get through Clean over the weekend before Monday. I buy my books from the Book Depository – their great prices and free shipping are always a winner in my book (geddit? Ha!)

6. Spring mornings

Pretty spectacular, right? Don’t think I need to say anything more about those except maybe ‘ahhhhhh.’

7. Writing this post each week

You know that feeling you get when you’re having a really inspiring conversation with someone and your smile starts deep within your heart, and gets wider and wider, and your eyes are big and sparkly and you get butterflies and feel like fist pumping because you’ve got all this crazy energy surging through your veins? That’s how I feel every week when I write this post. Seriously. I’m addicted to the gratitude high. Buzziiiiiing!

8. Love

If you haven’t gathered by now, I’m crazy about my fiance, and five and a half years on, he still makes my heart pitter patter like it did when we first met. He truly blows my mind – I’ve never met someone so consistently grounded, so generous, so comfortable in their own skin and so at one with the world around them. His attitude inspires me daily. He also has this compassion for people that you want to bask in and this uncanny way of letting go. Nothing festers with him, and while I might offload after a stressful day at work, he’ll never come home and complain, or say a bad word about anyone. I can honestly say that no matter what’s going on around me, when I think about him I can’t help but soften as I remind myself how incredibly grateful I am to have this man in my life. I love LOVE!

Shiny snippets: weddings + organising my bestie’s baby shower + making menu plans for dinner and sticking to them (otherwise we get sidetracked and eat sushi every night… which is not altogether a bad thing!) + sending love and understanding to unreliable people (can’t change anyone’s behaviour but your own, after all) + Jelly Belly jelly beans in bed at 7:30am (favours from the wedding)! + wedding changes that feel so right + trusting my instincts + feeling like I’m almost there with finding the perfect life coach.

Images: 1. Pinterest 2. Freepeople

Continue Reading | 10

Making Me Happy

7 September, 2011

1. Birthday celebrations

We kicked off Ramai’s birthday celebrations on Saturday morning at The Beach Shack – check out that view! – where we indulged in corn fritters and banana smoothies and I whipped up a makeshift “HB” (Happy Birthday) sign made from sugar packets. Ramai’s phone was going off all morning with lots of birthday messages as you can see!

That night, I took my b’day boy for drinks at the new Stingray Lounge (terrible name, great bar) and afterwards we dined upstairs at Bazaar. The cocktails rocked, the food was delightful and the night was, all in all, thoroughly enjoyable for Team R & R!

2. Chia seeds

Chia, chia, chia! Healthy as anything and packed full of nutrients, these little seeds sure do pack a punch – they’re nature’s highest plant-based source of complete protein and an awesome source of Omega-3. Sarah Wilson has more detail here. I add them to my raw bliss balls, and have them in a glass of water each day and have definitely noticed a difference in my skin (on my face) since I started including them in my diet again. More smooth/ glowy, less dry and wintery and ugh. Are you on the chia train?

3. Thrown together meals

There’s something super satisfying about pulling out all the unused vegetables you have in the fridge the night before your next grocery shop and throwing them together with whatever else you you dig out of the pantry. We do this often, and on the menu this week was a lentil and sweet potato “lasagne” with a bunch of veggies, tomato pasta sauce and a sprinkling of cheese on top. Yum!

4. Getting Off My Own Back

Seriously. Who ordered the gigantic Pressure Pie with a generous helping of Pressure on top?

Oh. Me?
Right.

Seems full-time blogging, full-time jobbing, full-time trying to have a life-ness and part-time wedding planning has taken over the controls in my brain a little lately and despite me knowing better, I’ve convinced myself that I need to fill every waking moment with doing more, more, MORE! Problem is, squeezing more into an overscheduled life leads to imbalances and inconsistencies and it means the output is often not at the desired level. Energy gets scattered, tasks take 10 times longer than they should and the liquid gold doesn’t flow smoothly from that mental tap – it comes out in spurts and bursts. And then it drips dry.

So this week – considering all this pressure has been completely self-created – I got off my own back and I felt relieved and really, really happy.

In truth, it took me about five days to do this properly. I planted the seed by talking to Ramai and a few friends about my overflowing cup. There were a few totally convincing (* cough *) and utterly vague things said (by me) like “Yep, definitely taking some time on the weekend where I just do nothing.” Sure, could see that happening. Never. It took me a couple more half-hearted pep talks with my inside peeps before I decided to get serious, thinking about ways I could tackle the Pressure Pie bit by bit, rather than diving in and smooshing it all over my face, then complaining that I felt overwhelmed. Of course I did. I had pie all over my face.

Here’s what happened:

1. I decided that if there were weeks where I was exceptionally busy (like the last month has been) I’d allow myself to post less than I have been posting. And I wouldn’t beat myself up about it, because you’re all awesome and understanding, and hey, I’d probably find the time to do the article I thought I couldn’t fit in anyway. But I wouldn’t have to. That’s the key.

2. I decided that weeknight catch up’s with friends just don’t work for me, as much as I want them to. Dayum. We’ve been averaging three nights a week out at the moment, on top of socialising on the weekend, and I end up feeling guilty that I’m distracted (thinking about the “make up” work I’ll have to do) or just plain tired. I want to be 100% there for the amazing people in my life, and plus, being a 5:30am riser I really need to be asleep by 9:30pm. I had an awesome sleep one night last week and the difference it made to my energy and motivation the next day was extraordinary.

3. Finally, I decided that it all had to begin with me changing my story and changing the words that have been tumbling out of my mouth lately. My two targets: “I’m so busy” and “I’m overwhelmed.” Gosh, how easily do these words roll off the tongue? “How have you been?” “Busy, busy.” ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, sista!

Which leads me to…

5. Magical Reminders

On Sunday night, I filled up the calendar on my phone with a bunch of positive reinforcements that I knew would make me smile during the week. I set alarms for each day (at random times, so that the reminders would be unexpected) and alternated these two affirmations:

“I am the luckiest girl in the Universe” and “I am relaxed and at ease.”

I should explain my thoughts on luck. I believe luck is self-created. Pure and simple. Being ‘lucky’ is a state of mind – believe you are blessed and you are. It’s about being open to the possibility of luck, or good fortune, and appreciating it when it arrives (and where better to count your blessings than in the comments on this post!)

Anyway, after my first reminder went off on Monday and I read the words “I’m the luckiest girl in the Universe,” I got a call from Ramai who told me that I’d be getting back $1500 more than I expected in my tax return. Hip hip hooray!

5 More Magical Morsels:

1. Feeling super grateful that this blog allows me to document/ bring my attention to the lessons I’m learning as I cruise the path of life
2. Sydney this weekend – which could mean less posts next week, will see how I go!
3. Outdoor pilates with the sun beaming through the trees (read: bliss)
4. The support and unbelievably kind words about In Spaces Between from old friends and new friends (plus all my new readers – HI!)
5. Reaching a target we’d set for ourselves for our savings… well before we thought we would.

+ And that’s me, sweet thangs! What about you, what’s on your gratitude list today?

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A Rainy Day Roadtrip… and A Mini Guide to Mt Tamborine

29 August, 2011

You may have gathered by now that for Ramai and I, a fulfilling weekend means jumping in the car and seeing where we end up. Sometimes we choose our final destination ahead of time, and other times we don’t and just see where the open road takes us.

Last Saturday, though, we planned. After spending quite a lot of time lately down south (the last time was the Bangalow/ Broken Head roadtrip I posted on) we thought it was high time we gave some love to our neighbours to the west – so despite dreary, drizzly weather and dense fog, we hit the road early bound for Tamborine Mountain.

*** I’ll just digress a moment and share a fun little fact here: most people (including me) refer to Tamborine Mountain as Mt Tamborine – but Mt Tamborine is actually a village of Tamborine Mountain, along with North Tamborine and Eagle Heights. Anyway, for ease, I’ll just refer to it as Mt Tamborine, ok!

Anyway, we didn’t get a great deal of photos because every time I jumped out of the car to capture something, the camera and I would both end up covered in water, but here’s a few shots from our day out:

Rain, fog, zero visibility. This was our view as we made our way up the steep incline of the mountain. Ramai’s face pretty much says it all.

There’s some amazing produce grown around Mt Tamborine (the region is particularly known for avocados and macadamia nuts) and on the way up, we found a market stall selling organic fruit and vegetables so we stocked up.

I’m going to wait until Wednesday to show you my other op shop purchase, but managed to nab this cute leather bag (all the way from Pareeee!) for $8. Bargain!

By noon, our stomachs were rumbling so we stopped off at Spice of Life cafe for a quick bite. Ramai had the Indonesian curry (top) and I had a chicken tagine. The meals were probably about a 6 out of 10 (hate saying that, but want to be as transparent as possible!) and considering there are some great spots to eat on Tamborine, we’ll probably go elsewhere next time. In saying that, their selection of wraps and sandwiches looked awesome – lots of salad and rye bread options too.

After lunch, we moseyed around a bit and went to Witches Chase Cheese/ MT Brewery (details below). Tamembert is the mountain’s version of camembert – geddit, ‘tam’ for Tamborine? – but my favourite is their Triple Cream Brie, which is to-DIE-for and also wins them lots of awards. Definitely try it if you’re up that way!

On our way out, we dropped into the lovely – but expensive – antique shop next door (they had a ‘no photo’ policy unfortunately) and then drove down Gallery Walk to pick up some of Tamborine’s world-renowned, totally delicious, calorie-free (ha, I wish) fudge from Granny Mac’s. Somehow we ended up with three 50 gram slices – caramel vanilla, cookies and cream and plain old vanilla. Y.U.M! And yes, I shared. Reluctantly.

This is what happens when you eat the mountain fudge. Crazyface. Hello!

Honesty boxes line the roadside up and down the mountain and we found a fabulous little one on our way home.

Picked up some homemade rhubarb jam for $4 (they also had chutney and some strange jam concoctions like green pepper and passionfruit that we weren’t game enough to try), four limes for $1 and a gorgeous bunch of bright flowers for $3. These reason I don’t have a photo of the flowers is because I accidentally left them in the back of the car overnight and they were kinda wilted by the time we remembered to get them out. Not so purrrtty anymore.

And finally, to finish the day off, a big cheesy smile for Ramai. Probably still high on sugar at this point.

So that was our day! But that’s not all… read on below for a few of my favourite haunts on the mountain.

My Totally Quick, but Totally Useful Mini-Guide to Mt Tamborine

{ EATING }

If your wallet’s on the fat side: you must, must, must go to Songbirds in the Forest. Amazing restaurant set in the rainforest, incredibly good food, and a worthy wine list. Go for a lazy long lunch or a romantic dinner. If you’re feeling particularly spendy, stay the night in one of their six luxurious mountain villas which are perfect for special occasions. Nothing says ‘I love you’ like a mountain villa, people. Take me there now!

If your wallet’s dieting and looking a little skinny: grab a cheese platter and finger food (as well as a preservative-free beer) from MT Brewery. The brewery is located on the same premises as Witches Chase Cheese, mentioned above, and next to the beautiful Liquid Amber restaurant. Head into the cheese factory part first up to do a tasting, and then chill out in the bar part with a beer. They also have live music on Sunday afternoons. Rancho relaxo.

For decadent fudge: my pick is Granny Mac’s. They have every sweet under the sun in this place too as well as ice-cream, coffee and so on.

{ EXPLORING }

For op-shopping: I found my treasures at the RSPCA store located at 45 Main St, North Tamborine. The lady that runs the place is so lovely! And by the way, if you need it, here’s a list of all the thrift stores on the Gold Coast.

For a laugh: visit the very quaint Tamborine Mountain Distillery. I won’t ruin it for you, but the guy that runs the place, Michael Ward, is as lovably eccentric as they come. He’ll have you trying every liquer under the sun. I’ve had absinthe thrust upon me at 10am before! Cool little story with this place too – Michael and his wife moved north from Tasmania after she fell ill, and started wondering what they could do with the abundance of fruit that was falling from trees all over their property. With no experience in distilling whatsoever, they bought a few pieces of equipment, and started making their naturally produced, chemical-free liquers using a variety of fruits and native plants like lemon myrtle. They’re now the most awarded distillery in Australia and have won a whole bunch of international awards! Love a great little success story like that.

For wine-tasting: Witches Falls Winery would be my pick of the bunch.

If you have kids: check out Thunderbird Park. I remember LOVING that place as a child because the whole idea is to go fossicking for “thunder eggs” (rocks with crystal geodes inside – I had a small obsession with crystals growing up that I’ve never really gotten over!) There’s also the Adventure Parc high ropes course and lots of other cool activities.

Getting amongst nature: plently of different tracks to explore on Mt Tamborine. Check them out here.

+ Hope you enjoyed the pics and my mini-guide and if you have any questions, feel free to ask away! x

Continue Reading | 5

Roadtrippin’

22 August, 2011

Last weekend: The day started with a surf check at Tallebudgera. The conclusion: no surf. Me: hooray! Ramai: sad trombone.

And so the road trip adventure began, but before we got our adventure boots on, there was a quick stop at the new Miami farmers markets to drool over organic goodies and to pick up a few bits and pieces.

See…

It was literally an in ‘n’out mission, so once the shopping was done, we hit the road for our day down south. Next stop: Bangalow (then Broken Head!)

We left our phones at home which was the smartest thing we’ve done in a long time, and with all the extra time that wasn’t being taking up checking Twitter/ Facebook/ AFL scores (me, not Ramai – obviously) (haha… AS IF!) we had the funniest conversations, talked about our big dreams for the next year and rocked out some major air guitar epicness.

My favourite moments with my fiance are when we are both in fits of laughter. It might sound funny, but I love looking at him when he’s laughing those deep, belly laughs – that sparkle in his eye gets me everytime!

Of course, like pretty much everyday, when I glanced at the clock it was 11:11. It haunts me! In a good way. I use it as a reminder to make a wish or focus on something positive in my day. 11 is also my lucky number so, to me, seeing 11:11 means “The rest of the day will be amazing.” And it was.

I snapped these shots at an amazing antiques shop in Station St, Bangalow (I believe it’s called Vintage, Retro, Antique & Collectables). The wares are a little on the expensive side, especially if you are a hardcore op shopper and you’re used to picking up your treasures for next to nothing, but there was definitely some cool stuff in there that I’m going to go back and look at for our wedding. Also, the guy that runs the place obviously has great taste, or knows a woman who does – would you look at those Manolo’s perched upon that leopard print chair!

Handy resource: If you live on the Gold Coast or Northern NSW and you love secondhand/ antique/ vintage collectables, add this Local Trail guide to your Favourites. I know I’ll definitely be using it for our next visit down that way!

Heath’s Old Wares is overflowing (literally) with trinkets, collectables and recycled bits and bobs – everything from tools to typewriters to glass bottles. It’s fair to say my eyeballs were popping out of my head when I saw this place. Actually, I can’t quite believe I’d never stumbled across it before (it’s tucked away up a lane off Station St if you’re looking for it).

Little known Rach fact: I have a small obsession with animals doing funny things. Seriously. It’s become almost a hobby of mine to email Ramai a silly picture of a dog pulling a face or a cat with a mohawk. Or dressed in superhero costumes. Captions or commentary? Even better.

Anyway, I spotted these cheeky girls on the drive from Bangalow to Broken Head (where all the pics below were taken) and I couldn’t resist getting a few happy snaps. How funny is the last one… she’s like ‘Excuuuuuse me, girlfriend, but what the HELL do you think you’re doing?!’ If she could wave her hand/ wag her finger, she so would.

The last series were all shot at the beach at Broken Head. You might remember me saying that we were going to go camping last weekend at Broken Head? Well, although we didn’t camp we still made it down there… the pull was too strong obviously! We read magazines and chilled out on the sand, then went for a wander around the headland to snap some beachy shots. How cute is the natural archway along the track!

All in all, the day was perfection – and just what we both needed. There’s something so rejuvenating about getting outside and embarking on a creative mission. Grabbing a camera (or notepad), letting go of to-do lists and just rolling with the rhythm of the day is an amazingly freeing experience. It might sound simple, but it unlocks the parts of us that get pushed down and ignored when we’re caught up in (supposedly) more important day-to-day tasks. I know I always come home from days like this feeling like any feelings of overwhelm have instead been replaced with clarity and a healthy dose of motivation. It’s the best!

+ I hope you enjoyed seeing a little insight into our day, we had a ball!
+ I’d love to know: what’s your favourite way to ‘get creative’?
+ Tell me in the comments below about how you unleash a bit of your creative spirit onto the world!

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Mini-break in Melbourne

28 July, 2011

As I spoke about here, we went to Melbourne for four days last week for a mini-getaway. The aim was to catch up with our special friends that live in our second favourite city in the world (New York is our first… I’m sure that doesn’t surprise anyone!) and to eat, shop, relax (well, that one didn’t really happen) and just have a good time. And that we did. In fact, we had a bloody awesome time!

Despite our best intentions to get completely snap-crazy, we found that we were too busy enjoying the moments to pull the camera out, adjust the settings and document the whole trip in pictures. It’s also quite hard to wangle an SLR with arms full of shopping bags as we found… but anyway, we managed to get quite a few shots, as you’ll see below.

“Hurro Melbourne, is that chu? We enjoy you. Immensely.”

Ramai breaking in his new shades… and declaring his love for the city.

Melbourne is known for it’s cool alleyways and awesome street art. Gorgeous colours to brighten even the dreariest winter’s day.

Veggie burgers and fries were pretty much my staples over the weekend (yep, eating was clearly the theme) but Ramai and I got the best of both worlds for breakfast each day – I’d order muesli or porridge and he’d order some delicious hot breakfast and we’d do half/ half. Sweet and savoury. That’s what it’s all about! Devoured this muesli at Caffe Sienna on Chapel St, South Yarra. Great food and toasty warm inside = yes!

This was to-die-for! The best baked eggs ever, mixed with a delicious spicy tomato sauce, basil, spinach and mushrooms. Quite coincidentally, I saw this recipe online yesterday as well. The universe is telling me something: BUY RAMMIKENS. Got it!

My girl Jess and her man Dave live in Fitzroy and we spotted this cute house (among many others) as we headed to catch the tram one morning. So quaint, I love the red accents.

This is Wilco, the coolest ~~cat~~ dog on the block…

…Except for when he mauls the vintage fur jacket I scored in New York! This is him licking his lips in anticipation, no doubt.

“Jacket, just wait til they leave to go shopping. YOU’RE DEEEEEAD! (evil voice).”

Trying to look coy?

Ramai propping himself up on coffee after a few late nights in a row.

Morning dew.

And afternoon sun.

Streets of Fitzroy.

Up close. Love the blue!

Camilla, Jess and I at The Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood, enjoying drinks, good food and lots of laughs. Cool spot for a relaxed night out. Oh and I’m also wearing the lace kimono I told you about yesterday!

Cocktail jugs at the Carlton Club in the city. Soooo good! I could have quite easily continued on here way into the night.

Excuse the dodgy “joined” photo, but this is what 75,000 people at the MCG looks like. We went to see Ramai’s football team (Essendon) play Carlton, and although they lost, it was heaps of fun to pop our friends “AFL cherry” — they’d never seen a live game before and were in awe!

Willy being staunch (and adorable) on the couch.

Willy’s mama and papa – aren’t they sweet?! Love you guys xx

Lots of Bloody Mary’s for Ramai on this trip (can anyone say obsessed?) Look at that dollop of mustard!

Captain Deer Head keeping an eye on the proceedings at the The Napier Hotel.

Jess and I. Not to totally draw attention to my grill or anything, but I’m wearing my Invisalign braces in this picture – pretty discreet, right?

As I said, veggie burgers and fries… healthy, yeah?

We didn’t order this pumpkin pie but I had major food envy when it arrived. Nom, nom, nom.

And that’s it folks, hope you liked this little look at our weekend away. Travelling is seriously the best!

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New York: Round Two // Part 2

30 June, 2011

The wonderful thing about travel is that it stirs in you a desire to do things that you wouldn’t normally do – or think to do – while you’re at home. Our unspoken motto for travelling is to be open to surprise and serendipity and to look for inspiration (or even better, let inspiration find us) in unexpected places. Magic always trickles in that way!

On our trip to New York earlier this year, we became seriously enamoured with our Canon SLR, which I think was in equal parts due to us finally having the free time to play around with it, and most importantly, because we were buzzing on an NYC high and wanted to suck it all up through the lens to take home with us. We were ready for encounter, champing at the bit to unleash some creative energy on the world! I know that goes against everything a holiday stands for – doing nothing, sleeping in, eating yourself into a food coma – but I kinda get off on filling that glorious “free space” in my head with creative stuff when I don’t have to worry about to-do lists, journalists and copywriting (I work in digital PR).

It all feels very… expansive.

So that’s how we ended up at the Bronx Zoo.

Random? Perhaps. But also one of the most inspiring, memorable days of our trip. Because it was spontaneous, and different, and we had so much fun getting all paparazzi-like on the poor, unsuspecting animals. Inspiration from an unexpected place, for sure! We were also happy to venture out of Manhattan and see the differences in everything from architecture to lifestyle and culture in another borough. Eye-opening.

Hope you like (just a small part) of our photo collection from the day. Be sure not to miss Pouty McPout – giraffe diva extraordinaire! Oh and speaking of diva’s… you’ll see.

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