Australia Exploring #3!

Yesterday was one of those days where I just had to go to the beach. Priorities though: I went for a manicure first (a really awesome one) and then I met my friend for lunch before we walked to the beach. 

First of all, lunch was flipping amazing. I can't remember the name of the place we went but the sandwich I had was one of  the best. It was somewhere in Port Melbourne on Beach Street I think, so hunt down the good places on there and I'm sure you'll come across it. They also do these pretty awesome berry smoothies.

It was so frickin' hot though and I am as pasty as it gets so me and the sun don't always mix well, but I put my factor 50 on (if a higher one existed I would be putting that on instead) and off we went to the beach.

We stopped at Princes Pier on the way to the beach, seeing as it was only a couple of minutes away and it proved to be quite the photogenic spot on a beautiful day.

And as for the beach, well it was very sandy and I got sand in places I didn't even know sand could go but all in all it was a fab day!

Katie x

P.s. For those of you wondering, yes, my pasty, milk bottle skin did get burnt - it resembles a tomato instead now :(

Australia Exploring #2!

I decided to give my solo adventuring another go yesterday and I managed with a little more success this time! I did get lost and walk for a hell of a long time before I came to the realisation I had no clue where I was, but it's all good because I figured it out and got there eventually (just so I don't look like I have zero navigational skills, because I do have some (I think), I would like to take this moment to point out that my friend gave me directions and missed out a vital point for along the way: turn left)!

My  adventures took me to two places because I just happened to come across one as I was searching for the other and I thought why not go there as well. 

The first place I went to, rather spontaneously, was The Shrine of Remembrance and I have to say it was extremely interesting. I love history so being able to read all about Australia in WWI left me right in my element, and the building itself was incredible - just make sure you don't have an aversion to steps before you go because there's quite a few, but it's well worth it and the view at the top is amazing.

The second place, the one I was originally trying to get to before I took my little detour, was the Royal Botanic Gardens and maaaan had I looked forward to going there. I have never been to a more peaceful and beautiful place ever and, despite the fact I spent a good couple of hours there, I know there's still loads I haven't seen. It's one of those places that I think I could walk around forever and still always find something new. I can only describe it as exceptionally stunning and that doesn't even do it justice.

Fun little story; when I was at the Royal Botanic Gardens there were lots of people taking photos of each other and I thought 'wouldn't a picture surrounded by all of this be lovely, I'll ask someone to take mine', so I did. I asked a gentleman who didn't speak a lot of English but seemed lovely and was already taking pictures, he agreed with lots of nods and smiles and I gave him my camera and showed him which button to press. Now what I didn't realise when I gave this nice gentleman my camera was that he thought of himself as a bit of a photographer, so he proceeded to go from different angles whilst he knelt down on the ground (mate, I don't need to see all my chins and lumps and bumps in every photo). He then asked me to do different poses only, due to the language barrier, I didn't understand this so he started demonstrating and what could I do apart from my best to re-enact them?! So here I was, in this beautiful place, surrounded by stunning views, getting a million and one unflattering photos taken of me, even though I only asked for a simple one - which I still didn't really get in the end. But hey, it's one funny memory to look back on!

Also, there were these really cute ducklings.

Katie x

Australia Exploring #1!

Today was my first proper day of exploring in Melbourne because, although I attempted exploring yesterday, I'm not gonna lie, it was a massive failure - I couldn't even figure out how to get to the beach and it just made me really depressed for the day. So today my friend (who is currently living in Australia) took charge and at points she wasn't much better than me but she still managed to get us to Hosier Lane, which is somewhere I have been so excited about seeing!

It had all of this incredible street art, all different varieties of it in every, shape, size, form, colour and detail. I was in awe.

Some of it I couldn't even believe people could create in the first place, never mind put so much time and effort into.

One of the things I love about it is that the artists put all of that effort into it and so many people pass through it every day and appreciate the amount of heart and soul that has gone into it even though the creator knows it's only temporary. They do it even knowing that someday, in the near or far future, someone else is going to come and put their mark on Hosier Lane and paint their own incredible story over it. 

If you ever visit Melbourne, this is the one piece of culture, an undiscovered, one-of-a-kind type of culture, that you need to come and see.

Come to the other side of the world and they can
still read my mind.

#FreeTheNipple

Preach it.

Katie x

I'm Going to Australia!!!

As you read this I may even be in Australia, I haven't decided when I'm going to post this but I'M GOING TO AUSTRALIA!!!

My best friend is currently living over there and I miss her like crazy so we decided I would go over and visit and it was the best of both worlds because I get to see Australia too!

Australia is somewhere that I have always wanted to go (it might even be on my bucket list that I posted on here ageeeeees ago) and I am so excited that I am finally getting to go. I'm only going to be there for 3 weeks which, in Australia other-side-of-the-world terms, is not very long. I would've loved to be able to go for longer but I have work and things to think about and there's only so much holiday a girl can take.

I've been trying to make sure that I've got everything done and that I'm prepared over the past few weeks, because I'm that last minute kinda girl and can I tell you how difficult all of these things you have to organise are?

I've never travelled without my family abroad, never mind alone so I've never had to be the one to organise all the flights and travel insurance and visas and money and the list just goes on.

I also have the irrational worry that I'm going to run out of money or something whilst I'm over there even though I know I have plenty saved up but, again, that's something I've never had to worry about because when you're going on holiday with your mum you can always just be a pain and borrow money from them... Sorry mum...

 

Also, the flight. It's long. Obviously, because I'm going to the other side of the world but yeah. I don't mind it, the idea of a long flight doesn't bother me, the only thing I'm worried about is getting bored and because I'm not flying with any family or friends I'm not going to have anyone to annoy with my boredom.

Anyway, Australia has somehow brought me back into the blogosphere and made me want to blog lots (especially about the things I do over there) so hopefully I can keep on top of this and actually post these things. I actually have a lot of blog posts saved up in my drafts because I wrote lots of things that I never posted for one reason or another (that's a story for another blog post though).

So yeah. I'm going to Aus. That's what I was trying to tell you. Expect more blog posts. Hopefully (I'll try me best, promise!).

Katie x

THE Bucket List

Hello!

I have a list of things I want to do before I... pass over to the other side? Is that the nicest way of saying it? I'm not sure. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I have a bit of bucket list. Things that I want to do before I die. It's not something I've ever properly written down or anything; they're just things that, somewhere along my way in life, I've thought "I have to do that someday!"

I've decided that it's maybe time I actually wrote them down, though... Or some of them, at least. This way, not only can I never forget if my clumsiness leaves me with amnesia, but there will be people to remind me that I made this list and never to give up on it. Here are a few of them.

1.

Publish a novel!

This one is something I have always wanted to do. As in, my whole life. Ever since I was just little. I've always wanted to have my own writing published. Therefore, it's a goal that I really, really, really, really, really want to achieve before I die! Like, seriously. Publish a novel. I have to do that.

And there's my bucket list over! Thanks for reading! Jokes. Don't stop reading yet! I was joking! Promise. I have just a few more.

2.

This is going to sound like such a silly one but, I want to get a tattoo.

I know what you're probably all thinking, if I want a tattoo, I'm old enough, I should just go get one. It's not that easy though. No one in my family has a tattoo. Nor are they very open to them. Even my brother, who was always the rebel child when he was younger, never came home with a tattoo. It's something that I really want to do but I feel like I would feel a lot better and a lot more confident about it if I had my family's approval. So I guess this one's more of a "get my family's approval for a tattoo" goal, than actually getting the tattoo.

3.

Own my own house/apartment.

This is such a stereotypical one, I know, but it's something I really want some day. I would just love to have a place that I could call mine and could decorate however I want... In fact it's the decorating and buying little, unique things for it that really gets me about this one. I love going into shops and looking at all the cute home decor and picking which bits I would have if I was furnishing and embellishing my own wee abode! So if someone would like to give me a limitless amount of money for when I decide to tick this one off my list, that would be great! No? Oh. Okay then...

4.

Travel.

Obviously I travel, I did a post (HERE) about going on holiday to Turkey with my mama last month and I loved every minute of it, but I want to travel more. I'm sure that sounds really greedy but the majority of my life we have gone to Turkey because my step-dad's family live there, and I always want to go some place different. I would love to go to Australia (bucket-list typical, I realise) or, more than anything, I want to go to New York. A lot of my friends have been there or are going there and they're very fond of telling me what an amazing place it is. So, I want to visit the Big Apple, Concrete Jungle, The City That Never Sleeps, New York - I want to go there soooo bad.

5.

Family.

I want my own family, like most people, but this one is more about the incredible family that I already have. They're always there for me and support me in everything I need and do, so I want to be able to give back to them. All sentimental and soppy of me, I know, but I really do want to be able to do for them what they've done for me one day. Okay, mushiness over.

So there are five things I want to make sure I try my hardest to do before I die. I'll probably have forgotten half of them before tomorrow but then they'll come back to me eventually, they always do. Or, now I can just look here and remember them - perfect!

Katie x

Holiday TBR List!

Hello!

One of the best things about going on holiday is that you can sit and read and not think about having to do anything else... Aside from the obvious things the body needs to survive... Books are definitely included in that survival.

In fact, chances are, by the time you read this I will already be on holiday, probably sitting by the pool right now, paddling my feet! Eeeek! I'm so excited!

I read a lot when I'm on holiday, so here are a list of books that I'm planning on reading in the lovely sunshine - my TBR list!

Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell)

You're the One That I Want (Giovanna Fletcher)

Billy and Me (Giovanna Fletcher)

On Dublin Street (Samantha Young)

Flat-Out Love (Jessica Park)

On the Island (Tracey Garvis Graves)

Attachements (Rainbow Rowell)

The Edge of Never (J. A. Redmerski)

Breathe (Abbi Glines)

So you know what I'm going to be doing on my hols!

Luckily I have a Kindle  now, life was always so much more difficult before their invention - I could never manage to fit the abundance of books that I wanted to take in my case! The amount of telling-off's I got from my mum for taking something of hers out without her knowledge so that I could fit an extra book in!

Nearly all, if not all, of them will get read too - I read more when I'm on the plane than I do when I sit by a pool I think, because I can't sleep on planes, or even relax properly, I hate being stuck in such a confined space so to take my mind off it, I just read... In fact, forget the plane thing, I just read all the time!

Katie x