an aussie christmas

This has been one bizarre Christmas. Not only is it my first Christmas away from family but I was spending it in 40 degrees. The day started early with a small champagne breakfast, then a trip to the beach. The beach was so much fun with reindeer antlers, Santa hats and Christmas songs on the beach radios. We only stayed at the beach for an hour or so because even though it was so early it was still so hot. We went back to our apartment to have a BBQ. We had sausages, chicken and steak with potato salad and a green salad. It was so nice but it doesn't beat a roast dinner.

After a big meal I needed to have the traditional Christmas Day nap, I felt exhausted. When I woke I spent a good few hours on Skype calling my parents, my brothers, grandad and gran and then again a few hours after so I could Skype my uncle and my nan.

I had a really fun day with my friend and her family but for me there is no place like home this time of year. I will admit that I did cry a little after skyping my mum and dad but I'm just grateful I got to speak to them and be part of their Christmas Day back in England.

 

As mentioned previously, I have now started my YouTube channel and I have loaded a video of my aussie christmas.

 

Christmas tee - Woolworths

Christmas shorts - Primark

Bikini top - Cotton On

Bikini bottoms - Asos

Dress - Dotti

 

number one

I have finally got round to doing my first youtube video. I'm learning as I go along when it comes to editing and being in front of the camera. Let me know what you think.

para-para-paradise

This is what I wore today to Rottnest Island, which can only be described as paradise (travel blog post here).

I bought this dress after seeing it on Julie's blog. As a plain black dress I thought it could easily be dressed both down for the beach or up for a day/night out which is perfect when you're living out your suitcase.

 

Julie's blog post - here

Dress - Asos

Sunglasses - Ray Ban

Flip flops - Havaianas

 

jaws

I woke up this morning to a 'Shark Alarm' going off on the beach opposite. It sounds whenever a shark is spotted so surfers and swimmers know to leave the sea. I found out later in the day that 13 Tiger Sharks were spotted and had eaten a dolphins not far from the beach.

 

Today was a beautiful day to go to King's Park (see pictures of the stunning view here). It was 28 degrees which I think is the perfect temperature and it was lovely to sit on the perfectly kept grass and look at the city. I can't wait to go back with a picnic and some cold alcoholic beverages.

After we got too hot from sitting in the sun we went for lunch at The Lucky Shag which is right next to the bell tower. The pub looks over the river and I have been told you can some times see dolphins as you eat. The food was beautiful and it was an amazing location and I will most definitely be back there again.

 

This is what I wore for the day. My wardrobe has become incredibly casual and basic but it's just what you need in this sunshine.

Shorts - Cotton On

Tee - H&M

Sunglasses - Ray Ban

 

so much love in airports

Yesterday I wondered around Perth Museum (post here) whist waiting for my friend Becky to arrive back in Perth from Cairns. I finally met my beautiful friend Becky in the early afternoon (cheeky picture) who I'd not seen for 8 months. Becky literally ran at me, massive smile on her face, screaming. I dumped my bags on the floor, ran at her and had the best hug I've ever had, being picked up and spun around. I've missed her so very much.

 

I have been lucky enough to fly to many different countries and have been through many airports, but I have never gone to an airport and waited for someone in arrivals. Today we made our way to Perth airport to pick up Becky's mum, Maggie, who has flown from England via Singapore to spend Christmas and New Year here.

As we were in the International arrivals part of the airport, you know that some of the people who are being met may not have seen each other for months or even years. It was surprisingly emotional to see the smiles on everyone's faces as they catch the eye of the people they are meeting. Whilst waiting for Maggie we saw many tears, laughter and happy people being welcomed in to Perth. It reminded me of when I met my dad in Heathrow airport in 2010 after spending 3 months travelling around Australia and how happy I was to see his face light up when I walked through arrivals. This thought made me feel homesick for the first time. Mum, dad, Steve, Mark if you're reading this; I love you guys.

Maggie soon arrived and it was great to see how excited she was to be seeing Becky after 8 months and to be in Australia. We drove her back to our beautiful apartment (a review and peak inside here) and then walked along the beautiful Scarborough beach (pictures here).

 

feeling festive #10 - markets

I am staying at the Emperor's Crown hostel in Perth for 6 nights (review here). The family I was staying with have recently gone back to England for a holiday over Christmas and New Year, so I am staying at the hostel until Monday when I will be meeting up with my friend Becky. I have known Becky for absolutely ages and she come to Australia for a year in April so I've not seen her for 8 months. Excited is an understatement.

Each Friday there are markets just round the corner from the hostel but as we are now in December there was a Christmassy theme. There was some beautiful home made crafts, delicious food and a small band singing festive songs. I had such a fun night and I finally started to feel a bit festive. You can see more pictures of the markets here on my travel blog.

This is what I wore to the markets. Please excuse my hair, this is what no conditioner, hot weather and a lack of hair dryer and hair straighteners looks like. You can see a better picture of my shorts here.

 

Tee - Dotti

Shorts - Cotton On

Bag - Zara

 

fruit loop

I hate having flat hair and so I had a go at using the BaByliss Pro conical wand. Once I got the hang of it I though it was quite easy to use despite a few burnt finger tips. I am still waiting for the day that I have the perfect sea matted, long, wavy surf hair.

As mentioned in this post, I have wanted lilac hair for a long time and I did some experimenting recently. I like the stripe of colour but I would ideally like a much lighter shade if I was going to do my whole head. I have no idea what the name of the colour is, but I am going to go with raspberry.

 

Tee - Topshop

 

walking on sunshine

Today I woke up full of cold and generally feeling crappy so I decided to make my nails more summery as it was officially summer on 1st December here in Australia. I decided to use the Ciate mini in Speed Dial from the ever so cool advent calendar. I can be quite picky with nail varnish and I think some of the more expensive nail varnishes can be a bit crap (OPI and Essie) but I really liked Ciate and thought it went on really well and looked good after only 2 coats.

I used to live in gold jewellery but recently I've found myself loving silver jewellery again. The absolutely lovely Faye from The Bohemian Collective gave me this above knuckle ring as a leaving present and I haven't taken it off since. I've teamed it with this beautifully simple ring that I have borrowed from the lovely Sian and Emma who I am staying with.

 

When I was packing for Australia I knew that I would want to paint my nails but I wanted to pack as little as possible. I got the Instant Nail Polish Remover from Savers for £1 which is an absolute bargain and it works so well. I also bought this nail file buffer block for a cheap way to keep my nails looking nice.

I'm now going to spend the rest of the day celebrating that I have finally got my iPhone to work and browsing Pinterest. I don't know why it's taken me so long to finally sign up for Pinterest but I'm so pleased I finally have.

 

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park life

 

The family I am staying with have dogs and today we went for a walk through the local park. It's been a bit stormy the last few days so it was nice to finally have some sunshine.

I'm still not 100% sure if I like the top I am wearing (similar top here). I like the loose fit but I'm not sure if I like the back of the top as it is so much longer then the front.

Top - Primark

Leggings - Topshop

Flip Flops - Havaianas

Sunglasses -Ray Bans

More pictures of the local park on my travel blog.