Highlights of 2013

2013 was a good year for so many reasons, but here's a few highlights of the past year... (not in any sort of order, just a smorgasbord of the year it was!)

1 // We welcomed Blossom, our gorgeous ragdoll cat into our family after a spontaneous decision at the markets whilst on holiday at Bremer Bay. I am so happy we bought her though because she is simply the best addition to our family! Blossom an adorable cross eyed cat who loves to sit on top of the tadpole/frog tank and dip her tail in the water, sleep in the sink and wait at the bidet for someone to turn on the tap so that she can have a drink!

2 // We went back to Bremer Bay for Easter. Every year we head down there during January, but it was our first time for Easter and it was the best! Not all of the family got down, but we had a great few days 4WDing and fishing and swimming and going to markets and the like.

3 // I made the decision to go Manea Senior College next year (and got accepted!) This was a really hard decision for me to make and I spent a long time weighing out the good and bad things. Once I made the decision about mid-July though, I was so happy! I am really looking forward to it, especially since I will also be completing a Cert III in Design Fundamentals whilst I'm there.

4 // My trip to Taipei! It was my first time travelling alone (let alone overseas!) but it was a great adventure and enjoyed my two weeks in Taipei very much.  Some of the highlights included going to the top of Taipei 101 and eating chicken hearts and large intestine soup!

5 // I spent most of the year planning the WPIPS Camp 2013 and in October, along with a group of friends we finally head off to Busselton for four fun days. We did so much together and made some fantastic memories. Those days were definitely a few of my favourite from 2013!

6 // From July to the end of November, I volunteered afternoons per week at the After School Care at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School. I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with the sweetest children.

7 // In January, I was fortunate enough to receive the Shire of West Arthur Young Citizen of the Year Award. It was such a  surprise but a lovely way to remember all the great things I did in 2012! I go into the Shire these days and find it funny (but cool) to see my name up on the big board of award recipients.

8 // I got a job! At the start of this month, I was employed at the Shire of West Arthur as a Project Officer. I am focusing on compiling information of the Darkan-Dardadine Railway for signs that will be sued along the rail trail being established along there. Other tasks include answering the phone, shredding, photocopying and filing.

9 // I had a boarding unit filled with amazing, supportive girls which helped make 2013 great! Living away from home is hard, so to have a bunch of great girls there was really nice. I made some good friends, had lots of good times and will miss it next year!

10 // In May, the flooring was finally laid in Wattle Cottage. It is a light wood-like linoleum, which I love! We had been waiting forever, so it was great to be finally done so that now we can decorate etc. It is probably the only big thing that happened over at Wattle Cottage this year so it is very significant!

11 // We had Christmas at the farm! It is the first time we have hosted any Christmas at home since 2004, and especially great since both Mum and Dad's side of the family were there together. Not every could come, but we had a nice crowd and enjoyed each others company, spending most of the time in the patio since the weather was just great!

12 // At the start of December, I did a week of work experience at Childside School in Boyanup. I had the best four days and never wanted to leave! The school is a community school that draws on Steiner and Reggio Emilia approaches and the like. It was so different to anything I had ever experienced or school I have ever been to. Everyone was so nice and I felt like part of a big family!

13 // The 11/12/13 marked Taylor Swift's Perth concert, which I was lucky enough to have tickets to along with both my sisters! It was an absolutely the best night, and reviews in the newspaper say that people who went to the concert will be disappointed with other concerts since Taylor's was so great! It was the first concert I have been to and I have to say I was very impressed.

14 // In November, through my Media studies at BCGS, along with a group of other enthusiastic movie makers, I was able to work as the director on a ABC Open production featuring Deb "Spoons" Perry from Bridgetown. The small group of 6 (plus 2) did everything from the planning down to the editing which is being completed as we speak.

2013 was great. But I have a feeling that 2014 will be even better... bring on the new year!

Wishing you all the best for 2014 x

P.S. Great way to end the year, with my 100th post on this little blog! Thanks so much to everyone for your continued support and comments, I love you all :)

Gift Wrapping // Glitter Glamour

This year, for the first time ever, I participated in the Fat Mum Slim gift exchange. It has been so much fun stalking and shopping for my secret giftee. Wrapping has also been just as enjoyable since I love nothing more than a cutely wrapped present. I sent little gifts for the recipient's daughters and love how well this glamourous glittered packaging came together! It took a bit more effort but was soooo worth it. I'm in love.

You will need // gold glitter, key (or another cute symbol) scrapbook paper, floral wrapping paper, cardboard cutout letter, brown bakers twine, sticky tape, scissors, hole punch, liquid glue, black fineliner, white cardstock, paintbrush, pencil and circle template (or circle hole punch).

What to do // Start by wrapping the floral wrapping paper. Cut (or punch) out a circle shaped gift tag. Cover the chipboard letters in glue before coating the front with glitter. Attach to the gift card. At the top of the gift card, punch a hole for the ribbon to be threaded through and at the bottom script a cute message or name. Use bakers twine to wrap around the present and attach the gift tag once dry along with a cute graphic cut out (like the key shown above). Send with love...

A Little Bit of Life // A Chinese Meal

We nearly always have a foreign backpacker or two sharing our home with us. We provide food, accommodation and a friendly family and experiences whilst they help out with farm and house work. It's a win win situation! Last weekend, one of our Taiwanese helpers Margie and friend Angela hosted a special Chinese meal since it was Margie's last weekend with us.

Preparation for the lunch began early in the day and there was delicious smells wafting through the house all morning, accompanied by the sound of Christmas music since it was December 1st and I got a bit excited for the festive season!

There was LOTS OF FOOD. We had sweet and sour pork (my favourite!), green vegetables, fried rice, a spicy chicken dish and the most interesting.. battered prawns topped with sprinkles and pineapple. The presentation was absolutely amazing and it all tasted really good as well (despite the weird combinations).

To finish off, there was tapioca in coconut milk. I didn't have much though since everything else was so filing!

Thanks so much to Angela and Margie for this delicious meal. What's your favourite Chinese dish?

OOTD // Casual Glam

Even though it is most definitely summer now, it wasn't too hot today. I was of course secretly happy so that I could make the most of those last few winter outfits I've been dying to wear! I've had this statement necklace for a while now but haven't actually ever worn it before. I love the way it so easily dresses up an otherwise casual outfit!

Jeans // Target, Shirt // Target, Flats // Target, Black Tee // Gift, Necklace // Collie Shoeland

Hope you had a fantastic weekend x

Quick Craft // Hand Drawn Christmas Cards

I'll admit I feel a bit bad posting Christmas stuff before December 1st. In our family, we traditionally don't start celebrating and decorating until the start of December. This year however, school ends on the 29th November (only a few days left... where has the year gone?) so I wanted to get some cards to give to the amazing people I've met this year.

I knew exactly wanted in my mind and after having searched Etsy and the internet, my budget and personal preferences led me to the best option... crafting them!

You will need // a black fine liner, 250gm white paper, a brown and green texta, glitter paint, paintbrush, cutter and cutting board and scissors.

What to do //

1. Fold an A4 sheet in half lengthwise and then into thirds down the page. Measuring it will keep your cards nice and even!

2. On the half of the paper that will become the fronts of the cards, sketch some christmas trees with a black fine liner. Optionally, like I did, script a "Merry Christmas" or any other message at the bottom of each card. Don't worry about perfection, that's not the look we're going for!

3. If you want to make multiple copies, photocopy the sheet now onto more 250gm sheets.

4. Colour in the christmas trees on the photocopies. To make it quicker, I did all the green followed by all the brown. It's easier to colour the whole sheets in before cutting!

5. Score the cards down the centre of the page and then cut into the three separate cards. Fold to form a card.

6. Use the paintbrush and glitter paint to add some extra sparkles on the Christmas trees.

7. After the paint has dried, write inside the cards and send them off with lots of love!

I'm sure the recipients will love the cards, especially the fact that so much time and love has been put into them (just don't mention the photocopying... this is a quick craft after all ;)

So tell me, are you full-on Christmas mode yet or waiting until December? Personally, I'm dying to start listening to Christmas music!

Berry Delicious Muffins

Please excuse the horrible pun, but these muffins are truly berry delicious!
I had an urge to bake something last weekend and chose muffins mostly because we just bought a new muffin carrier thing and I really wanted to try it out...
I wasn't going to post about them since it was my first time baking them but they turned out surprisingly delicious and everyone was really impressed so when I finally to snap some photos, there were only four left!
They're a nice moist and dense muffin and sort of make you want to go back for more and more.

Berry Delicious Muffins
(adapted from Feijoa Muffins with Lime Glaze in Bake by Allyson Gofton)
makes 24 (trust me, you'll want 24!)

You will need // 5 cups of self raising flour, 4 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of milk, 4 eggs, 100g melted butter, 80g berry yoghurt, 200g mixed berries with syrup/juice.

Method //

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper cases.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar before making a well in the centre.
3. In a jug, beat together the eggs, milk and yoghurt. Pour into the dry ingredients.
4. Using a slotted spoon, fold together the dry ingredients with the butter and berries.
5. Divide the mixture evenly among the patty pans.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 15/20 minutes until golden brown.
7. Stand for 1 minute before brushing over with remaining berry syrup/juice and dusting with icing sugar.
8. Enjoy!

Have you done any baking lately?

Top Travel Essentials

My not-so-recent now trip to Taiwan really made me aware of the essential things you need when travelling, especially overseas. You're always bound to forget something wherever you go, it's unstoppable. But whatever you do, don't forget the following items! Well, I won't anyway...

Water bottle

It's a given... when you're out exploring the last thing you want is to become dehydrated. So keep safe and always keep a water bottle on hand. It will also mean that you're sure about where your water is coming from in the less trustworthy places you come across in your travels. And the best thing is that if you're flying and pack luggage that will go under in the aircraft, you can take liquids (like water). It was the best when I was in Taiwan to be able to get out a waterbottle and drink yummy rain water from home.

Document wallet

The worst feeling is to get somewhere (like the airport) and not be able to find something important (like your passport). I can't say it's actually happened to me, but I am ALWAYS losing things so it's better to be safe than sorry. When I was in Taiwan, I look a little handmade document wallet that stored everything from travel cards to passports and boarding passes. When I got somewhere, I just whipped it out and knew everything was safe in there. I'm so glad I took it!

Over the shoulder bag

When I went to Taiwan, I bought a new backpack just for the trip. I knew that it would be great to hold all that stuff to cart around everywhere (especially since I was taking some pretty bulky things like my Polaroid camera). And it would be much more convenient than a handbag (I will admit I've been shopping, stopped to look at something and then left my handbag behind). Anyway, I thought a backpack would be great. It was but it wasn't.
Sure, it was great for all the things mentioned above, but when we went to the night markets, my lovely hosts warned me of something I, coming from a lovely isolated country town in WA, would never have considered... the possibility of people taking things from by backpack. I would never have imagined something like that but after I was really paranoid. Nothing did get stolen but I did get a bit freaked! On my next trip to busy places, I'd love to take a bag that I can keep an eye on at all times.

What are your travel essentials?

Where Did You Learn All Your Blog Skills?!

*All photos in this post are from a recent photoshoot out in the garden... summer has arrived!*

"Where Did You Learn All Your Blog Skills?"

This was one of the questions asked in my annual blog survey and when I was asked it, I sort of thought to myself, "what blog skills, I have blog skills?" I'm glad that someone thinks I do!

If you want me to answer this question properly, sit down, make yourselves comfortable and tune in...

A couple of years ago now, in 2011, I started distance education. Living away from home for my schooling wasn't really suiting me and I never say no to an adventure so I was enrolled in SIDE (Schools of Isolated and Distance Education). I was so excited to get started and be in (some sort of) control of my own learning.

One of the first English topics was blogging. Of course, I was really interested and set straight to work. One of the tasks was to find three blogs through a website with a collection of Australian blogs and do an analysis on them. I found a few that sounded interesting... I remember one was an environment focused design sort of blog and another "A Not So Perfect Life". I did the analysis for the design blog before discovering that "A Not So Perfect Life" wasn't being written anymore, but the author, Tamsyn, had a new blog "Max and Me". I head over there and sort of never left. Literally. I read and read and read and became inspired and forgot about my schoolwork...

I didn't hand in very much work for my English course that year and failed the blogging topic. But regardless, I kept on reading Max and Me and through it, found more blogs to read and eventually, at the start of 2012, started this little blog here.

So... to answer the question, "where did you learn all your blog skills?", it was definitely not in English class, but mostly through other amazing bloggers out there (like Tamsyn) who keep inspiring me!

Also, at the start of this year I did an e-course written by A Beautiful Mess, which was interesting but didn't really change much in the way that I write and stuff like that. It must have helped a bit though because that was in January, when I had plenty of spare time (summer holidays) so I posted heaps and even started a blogging calendar to plan out everything. Now the posts just sort of come when I feel like it or have the time (I hardly ever schedule posts).

As for my photos, sometimes they're really bad and other times not so bad. With my mum being a photographer, I've been getting her to teach me a few things and try to improve my photos. I'm not so good with editing yet, so mostly she helps out with that. But it's something I really want to learn to do by myself!

Where did you learn all your blog skills?