Sunday, July 24, 2011

skyline.

These were the last photos Rick took of me before he left. We went to visit friends who lives in a block of apartments in Bondi, with a rooftop view to die for. It looks straight out to the infamous Bondi Beach and it's stark whites of the walls contrasted with the greys of the cement floors to the rustic metallic of the railings make for a perfect setting for a shoot. Been playing around with photoshop lately and did and edit on these photos.

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I loved the feeling of standing on the roof looking out to the ocean and seeing the skyline on a cloudy day. It somehow brings excitement, a feeling that there are so much things to do and events to come in the near future. Rick was able to snap a photo of a kookaburra taking flight and gliding into the air. It looked amazingly carefree and fearless.

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(Jumper: Bondi Markets, Singlet: Agent 99, Denim: St Lenny, Shoes: Sportsgirl, Rings: Asos and Lovisa, Necklace: Recreational Boutique)

I've been feeling a bit down lately, possibly a quarter life crisis coming to an age where I feel like I need a proper career direction in my life and not having to work in frivolous retail jobs. I mean it was fun and I loved working in fashion, but I've grown out of it. I feel like I'm no longer challenged nor am I learning anything new anymore. I've coming to a close with my degree and its something I now need to place myself in.

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So starting next week, its a fresh start, working towards my career and career goals I'll be setting for myself. I'm glad I have such a supportive network of friends and family and boyfriend. Time to take control and steer myself the right way.

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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

sun, surf and seal rocks.

For our last weekend away we went to Rick's favourite camping site north of Sydney called Seal Rocks.
It was a 3 hour drive and we went with 3 other couples. One being my friend Lore, who'd recently moved to Newcastle with her boyfriend, Rick's best friend Damien and his wife, who had driven 9 hours from the Gold Coast to spend the weekend with us and Rick other best mate Phil and his girlfriend Sandy. Usually when we go camping at Seal Rocks, we camp out with tents and the lot, this time round, being winter and all, we decided to go luxe and hired out wood cabins with beds.

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It was a great trip, the water was surprisingly warm for winter water temperature. We spent the first day surfing and swimming with dolphins, lazing around the beach and cooking snags on the BBQ for dinner, in front of a lovely and cozy bon fire. We even bought marshmellows and toasted them on the fire....divine!

The second day, Rick woke me up at 7am for a morning stroll to the cliffs. We found a path that took us to the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach. It was such a fantastic scene. Definitely something I won't be forgetting soon.

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We ended up surfing again in the afternoon and ended up swimming with a school of hump back whales. It was a pretty amazing sight, being just 100m from these amazing creatures. Rick got so close he could even feel the water vibrating from the whales calling to each other.

Last surf of the season, I'm definitely going to miss it a lot. Watching Rick surf from the ocean is such an exhilarating feeling and looks and feels completely different when you watch someone surf from the beach. It was one of most memorable experiences we've ever had and one that I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

I'm slowly catching up on my blogging. So sorry about that and my sister has now taken the job of official photographer for my blog. I'll be featuring more outfit posts soon and we start shooting this weekend. I hope you guys all had a fab week up to date. I definitely wish it was the weekend already, as my week has just been TOUGH!

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Sunday, July 17, 2011

tallavera grove, hunter valley

On the second day of our trip to the hunter, we woke up to a lovely little breakfast setting on the front deck of the Cooperage. The hosts of the Cooperage had prepared us a mammoth of a country styled breakfast. As Rick and I never really ever have the time to have breakfast, our stomachs are pretty much not too accustomed to the amount of food that was prepared for us.

We had  a lovely fruit salad, with toasted muesli, yogurt drizzled with honey, followed by the most fluffy ricotta pancakes I have ever had. We were given honeycomb butter to spread onto our ricotta pancakes and had mandarins soaked in port. The honeycomb butter in itself was a culinary experience for us. Coupled with great view, company and weather, it was a great way to start the day.

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We spent the rest of the day doing more wine tastings. One place we visited was Iron Gate Winery. Its estate was Spanish inspired architecture, with terracotta roof tiles especially imported from Spain. Its interior is met by walking through huge wrought iron doors, stepping into a large room with Tuscany inspired windows and tiled floors, with a gorgeous view of the vineyard sitting behind the estate.

I think I dressed quiet appropriately for today. I've had these amazing red high waisted shorts since spring and have never had anything really to pair with it. Navy and red go so well together it was a shame if I didn't wear this adorable bow knit with it. Usually too cute and adorable for my taste, but considering the occasion, I think it was a comfortable and suitable choice.

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(Knit: Review, Shorts: Chinese Boutique in Sydney, Loafers: ASOS, Ring: Camilla and Marc, Wallet: Chloe)

We had some time to kill before heading to lunch and decided to play a game of aqua golf down near the Hunter Valley Gardens. It was so much fun, letting off a bit of steam by belting the ball as far as we could, but afterwards, our arms were all whacked out from the force we had exerted on the golf balls.

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We had lunch at a gorgeous little restaurant over looking the valley called Tallavera Grove. It's such an beautiful restaurant as when you walk in you are greeted by this magnificent view over the valley. There were dining spaces sitting in a little courtyard which separated the cellar door from the restaurant. It was such an spectacular view and the food was AMAZING! It felt like we stepped into a little part of Tuscany.

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I've been quickly documenting all these doings from what I can remember as I'm so behind on my blogging, you guys need to all excuse me for my writing possibly not making sense. I hope you guys are all having a great weekend, and again appreciate all your lovely comments!

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