January

 

 I took these pictures much earlier in the year, planning to post them with a lot of thoughts on new years and how we respond to them, but due to the hectic nature of my new year, I haven't had the time, so I'll just leave you with these photos, as I still am very happy with them by themselves. My year is indefinitely going to be a huge one; filled with lots of plans, lots of the unknown (both an equal parts exciting and daunting), a truckload of stress and upset and change and hard work, but hopefully lots of happiness and rewarding days as well, and hopefully the time to keep my blog updated with all that's going on, and the creative endeavours that I hope to achieve. I hope you all have a great 2016. Happy (sort-of-still) New Year! x

Photos are all self portraits taken with the self timer on my Nikon L120 in front of my bathroom shower curtain.

Some belated thoughts on Christmas

I know that plenty of people want to just to get Christmas over with when it rears its over-decorated head every year. It's easy so stress yourself out as you untangle the decorations, cursing as you stand on spikey star-shaped Christmas lights (even worse than Lego); make the food; hunt for a gift for your brother's boyfriend's half-sister's father; cry in frustration as you try to master the art of curling ribbons; plan, plan, plan and plan for things you barely have time for; and try not to pull out your own hair as you are assaulted by horrendous festive songs in the supermarket when you are just trying to buy some organic carrots in peace (to quote my sister Jazz: "I'm not sure if it's singing or some kind of anti-ear campaign.")

...Okay, so as you can tell from my cynical over-exaggerations, I'm not a fan of Christmas. Alright, no, that's not true; I'm not a fan of the consumerism and expectations that come hand-in-hand with occasions such as Christmas (or the songs - seriously, they need to go).

There are so many aspects of Christmas that I enjoy: I do appreciate some of the decorations because I have an obsession with all things sparkly, I love that it brings people a bit closer - be it family or simply the stranger you smile at and say "Merry Christmas" as you walk past each other in a park, I love the word 'festive', I like food, I like chocolate, I love family and laughing and togetherness. It can be so full of wonder and love, sometimes it's the only time some people get to see their children, or the only time they get to relax and have a good time. I spent my Christmas in Brisbane, and I really enjoyed just walking around a park in West End and seeing people celebrating in their own ways. I love it when it means something; I like the things about Christmas that we preach so thoughtlessly and often that it's easy to forget what it should really be all about.

My favourite part is the memories from childhood. I feel a little bit closer to the magic and whimsy of being a kid and having that unbelievable excitement when waking up on Christmas morning or choosing the one present we were allowed to unwrap on Christmas Eve. The images are foggy but the feeling is still recalled easily, as is the smell of pine needles and tinsel. They evoke the same beautiful nostalgia I get when I reread my favourite children's books, climb trees or make forts. Later memories are still smiled over: the holiday we spent eating chocolate balls in the air-conditioning as we watched our favourite comedies, or the time my parents were concerned because I laughed for 10 whole minutes at a Christmas tree that my dad had made by sticking a Casuarina branch in a pot of pebbles and zip-tying a star-shaped cactus to the top - small memories that mean a great deal to an individual.

For me, this was the first Christmas in a long time that didn't induce anxiety as early as October.Why was this year different? The answer is simple: my family and I all agreed to not buy each other presents this time. The decision saved not only a lot of money, but saved us all huge amounts of stress. For many, it seems, the holiday can feel more obligatory than exciting.

Why do days like Xmas and Valentine's Day have to be so much about presents and stressing over making everything appear perfect?

I love giving gifts, but why should we have to have a set day to give them? A set day to appreciate our loved ones, to celebrate, and to remember to have a good time? I suppose it sometimes is needed as a reminder. I much prefer the idea of the spontaneity and special-ness of giving someone a gift just because you feel like it, or because you found something and thought of them. It can be hard to find the perfect present when you're stressfully searching for them along with one for everyone else. But of course, that's just how I feel about it and it's all different for everyone.

...Anyway, I think that's all that my point was, but I can't really remember for sure because once again I'm writing a rushed post while tired (as was the case in my previous post - SO sorry for the amount of times I said 'quite' and all the other awkward things).

I hope your year was wonderful and so was Christmas day, whether you celebrate it, something different, or nothing at all, and I hope that 2015 (and all those to come after) is fantastic for all of us.

Happy New Year *throws biodegradable confetti*.

Au Revoir 2013

Hi everyone, I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and celebration of the winter/summer solstice (or whatever you celebrate) and are having a great holiday!  December has been a whirlwind of manic Christmas present wrapping (I've been wrapping not only the presents I got people, but also other people's presents as well as inadvertently wrapping my own!), delicious food, enjoying the company of friends and family, swimming, fun and summer.
I've been spending lots of time with my sister, Ireland, and her boyfriend, James, after finally meeting him for the first time. It has involved lots of trips to beaches and rivers, watching episodes of Doctor Who and introducing James to some of our favourite TV shows (such as Absolutely Fabulous and Black Books) debating whether Florence Welch says "you're giving me such sweet nothing" in her song 'Sweet Nothings' or if she's actually saying "you're giving me sexy gherkins" (yes, really), making Italian food, annoying each other, and James and Ireland finding interesting ways to wake me up, such as: James playing the Ukulele right next to my ear, slathering Vegemite on my face, and them both jumping on me (but that's okay, because James now has a distinct bald patch on his arm). I spent my Christmas with my gorgeous godfamily and my mum, which was lovely, and am looking forward to celebrating the new year tonight with Ireland, James and my dad.

Anyway, I'm off to do my resolutions (which is basically just a very large reading list).
Happy New Year!
I hope 2014 brings wonderful things for you all. xx

A Belated Happy New Year

A photo of Jazz in her purple wig, a plastic necklace, and a flower. Taken by me, edited (I think) See here.

A photo taken in a quick shoot at a rest stop where I got my sister to model for me in these fallen leaves and petals. Un-edited photo by me. See here. 

An extra photo from this post. Photo of my sister Ireland taken by me.

I'm donning a 70's dress and vintage silk sash in front of the camera, my sister behind the camera. Not sure if the photo was edited. See post here.

An extra photo of my sister and our horse Crystal from this post. Photo taken by me (I had to make it a little brighter so you could see her face).

Styling a vintage Scottish kilt from a charity shop. Un-edited photo taken by my sister.

A photo of my sister in a newspaper dress and wearing a newspaper flower both made by me for an art project. The photo was taken by me and I forget whether or not it was edited. See here. 

Wearing my grandma's 70's belt and a customised skirt. Un-edited photo taken by my mum. See post here. 

An un-edited photo of gorgeous sister Ireland, taken by me (definitely amongst the photos that I'm most proud of). She is clad in a charity shopped vintage hat and vintage velvet gloves. See post here. 

The lovely Jazz plays Alice in an Alice in Wonderland shoot, wearing my mum's 80's dress. Un-edited photo by me. See here. 

Photo of me never before added to the blog. I'm wearing a secondhand dress, vintage hat, and 70's velvet jacket all charity shopped. Un-edited photo taken by Ireland.

My ever stunning godsister Jazz in vintage 70's sundress and silk sash. Taken by me, un-edited. See post here. 

An un-edited close up of a beautiful little yellow flower, taken by me. See here.

A non-edited photo of my beautiful godsister Jazz taken by me. See post here. 

Me sitting at a table set up in a paddock for photographic purposes. Un-edited photo taken by my mum. See post here. 

A photo I took of my beautiful mum after plaiting flowers into her hair. Un-edited. See here.

Once again, sorry for the neglectful blogging! It's been over a month since I posted! I'd blame it on being busy, but I just didn't have any photos (I kind of have to beg my sister to do photoshoots with me.)  So, for a (belated) Happy New Year post, I added some of my favourites from previous posts (a few of them were extra photos that didn't make it to those posts, and some from shoots that never got posted on the blog.)

My Christmas was a car trip to see my paternal grandmother, a few of my mum's friends, and my wonderful god-family (my god-sister, Jazz, can be seen in some of the photos above, although not her gorgeous mother Vashti or twenty-one year old twin brothers) whom all have me in laughing fits whenever I see them. I also saw my paternal step-grandmother, which was lovely, and she gave us big boxes of some old photos, books, a pair of my late grandfather's suspenders, his boots (which fit me), letters and a vintage lozenges case with a heap of vintage pins and badges. The best thing being a beautiful leather case with a rose gold pocket watch as good as new, we found out from the engravings that it was my great great grandfather's, from 1906. Things like that are so special to me, I'm definitely a sentiment over diamonds kind of person.

During the car trip, my dad asked everyone their favourite Christmas memory, and my thoughts instantly went back to a Christmas when my sister and I were younger and looked at everything with so much more whimsy, and wore matching satin pyjamas, a memory accompanied by the smell of pine needles and tinsel. What is everyone's favourite Christmas/New Year's memory? I'd really love to know!

As I write I am at my god-family's house, and the lovely Jazz is still asleep on mattresses that we were on last night watching Dylan Moran stand-up comedy, so I'm going to go make her some tea in the hopes of her becoming conscious. So, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, I know I'm looking forward to see what this year brings.