parting words

why hello! by now you have no doubt given up on me...

almost one whole year has passed since i visited this little space.

firstly... i'm sorry! i know i promised more posts... just see below!

but i never took pen to paper (or hands to keyboard) after that. 

at first i was caught up in celebrating and enjoying the new year. 

then i got really carried away with falling in love... and still am.

throw work, friends, family, travel and life on top of 

that and suddenly we are almost in november 2013! 

deep down, a part of me also felt i had outgrown my blog. 

instead of reliving things here, i wanted to be savouring them 

in real life and looking forward to what was happening next. 

so i took a little holiday and just never came back. until now!

before i print my blog as a keepsake for years to come, i felt 

i needed some kind of final post, rather than leaving it unfinished

and hanging as i did below. so this is it! my final post. 

having a blog was a wonderful experience and big part of my

life. it allowed me to be creative and feel inspired, and hopefully

it even inspired others from time to time. it helped my friends

and family feel connected to me and in touch with my life, no

matter how much distance separated us. it also helped me stay 

in touch with myself. who i am. what makes me happy or sad. 

my seven hundred and forty five posts over three years have 

captured my life at that moment in time forever.

that's a pretty special thing to have, even if some are 

cringeworthy to read now! thank you for taking the time

to read my blog, whoever you are... even if it was only once, 

i hope it was as fun to read as it was to write it. 

so, as promised (and this time am following through!)

 a few parting words for my final ever post. love always, jess. 

 

and last but not least...

(and sometimes stuff just happens)

almost the end

hello long lost friends.

merry christmas!

(for yesterday...)

more posts to come soon...

but they are going to be my last!

miss you

i miss my best friend

sharing the blog love around

just a final post (yes i'm still up!) to share this beautiful giveaway which has been put together by jodie from the blog che and fidel. i've been following her blog for almost as long as i have been writing my own, and that is almost three years! it's an amazing and strange thing getting to peak into people's daily lives, as many of us blog readers do. i also wonder if that's why anyone comes here. i can't imagine my words and photos are as interesting as the ones on some of the blogs i visit, especially for those who don't know me! when i think about it, the whole thing does sound a bit creepy. i've essentially followed the day to day life of a total stranger for well over two years and even watched from afar as she embarked on the journey of motherhood for a second time. the story is told partly in pictures... from bump to bub and beyond! but i promise you it's not all that weird. inspiration comes from all kinds of places, especially people. i often wonder what i would do if i passed her and her two little ones in the street. knowing me i'd probably stop and chat like we are old friends. i guess it isn't too outrageous, as i do know a lot about her. she just doesn't know anything about me! on her blog she says she 'threads words together' which i really love the sound of. i like to think i do the same... always trying to find the perfect word or way to express something. in order to win on of her three prize packs, you simply have to follow her blog, like her che and fidel facebook page and share this giveaway, two of which i had already done a long time ago! ask anyone at my work, i am competition crazy. i haven't won something in a really long time and so i feel like the universe is holding out, waiting for something amazing to come along and then present it to me like a gift. needless to say, i didn't win the one hundred million recently, or even one cent of it, so perhaps this might be it. fingers crossed! finally, a heartfelt well done to jodie on her wonderful blog. i have loved seeing it grow almost as quickly as her children! thank you for sharing the big, small, good and not so good moments, it has been a pleasure and privilge to read every word. a word of advice to my own followers and anonymous readers (perhaps there are none!), please stop creeping around on my blog and go and check che and fidel out! you will love.

you are

it's summer soon!

this is what i had for dinner tonight! my flatmate and occasional personal gourmet chef naomi made us grilled fish with a tomato, mango and coriander salsa. it was delicious! especially the mango. we had one for dessert last night too. eating mangos are just one of the many things that remind me of summer... my favourite season for so many reasons. today i submitted my annual leave for christmas and now i can't stop thinking about enjoying ten glorious, long, hot days in noosa filled with family, fresh food, sun and fun, combined with lots of lazing by the pool and beach with a good book, all while wearing new swimmers! that is my ideal summer summarised. oh and yes, i even ate all of the tomato. i told you i've changed!

the weekend

i can't stop playing this song. i always stop it half way through, replaying it just to hear the start again. it sends shivers up my spine. needless to say i am very excited to see the temper trap and coldplay this weekend. before the concert on sunday though, i'll be seeing a play at the powerhouse on friday and enjoying good food, wine and company at a long lunch on saturday. i can't wait for the weekend to begin! 

be...

for the first time in a long time i am all of these things! it might be silly, but i feel like i want to let the whole world know. or at least the beautiful souls who are reading this right now. after being an unhappy, unshiny version of myself for so long, it is a refreshing change and one that i am proud of. life is too precious for us not to be happy, bright and ourselves. if you're not these things, and you want to be, stop doing whatever it is you are doing, and make some changes! remember this happiness graph? well i've been trying to follow it. i still have a little way to go  but i've been making small changes and new choices, bit by bit, day by day, and it seems to be working. i've come to realise that my life is good and i've started to believe it is has even better things in store for me. 'the best is yet to come' i'm sure of it. i feel passionate and motivated at work, i have more energy thanks to eating well and exercising, i laugh more, i am grateful for all the things i have, i am trying really hard to stay on track with saving, life is busy all the time and if anything, there aren't enough minutes in the day to do all the things i want to do, like keep in touch with all of my amazing friends and family, near and far. i feel especially loved up every time i think about many of my close friends who are set to marry their best friends. and i get excited that one day, in the very distant future, that might be me. before that happens, i hope to travel, meet new people, make memories, move forward in my career and become a better person just to name a few. oh... and i hope i can work out how to stop staying up so late!  getting to sleep sooner is one thing i am yet to do but it's on the list. so before i go and do exactly that, i want to share this quote by nelson mandela. there are parts of it which should resonate with all of us. not so much the parts about god for me, but i do love it all the same. 'we ask ourselves who am i to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? actually, who are you not to be? you are a child of god. your playing small does not serve the world. there is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. we were born to manifest the glory of god that is within us, all of us. and as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. as we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.' tomorrow let's all be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous. ♥ 

special

what is it about sequins and sparkles on a dress that makes it feel so special?

melbourne memories

here are a few happy snaps from my time in melbourne recently.

i was there for the wedding of my friends romina and andrew.

the wedding was beautiful and romina looked simply stunning.

my dad came along for the journey which was lots of fun. we

stayed at a lovely hotel in the city and he made friends with 

just about everyone who worked there. dad loves a good chat!

my favourite part of the weekend was sunday when we went

to albert park lake where my aunties were participating in a

charity walk. afterwards dad, janine and i walked to south

melbourne for lunch and on the way we encountered little 

baby swans! as you can see i actually got a lot of animal 

action while there. big hugs with chester my aunt lynda's

fat cat. they call him chessy and when i used to visit all the

time while living there, i would always answer back as it

sounds like jessie! i also got to play with a baby daschund.

so cute! it really was a wonderful weekend, one of many 

recently, especially spending quality time with my pappa. 

well said

ahh, this makes me feel better. 

what a fool. me for ever loving you, that is. 

you... you are in a class of your own.

butterflies are back

butterflies don't know the colour of their wings, but the human eyes know how beautiful it is. 

likewise, you don't now how good you are, but others can see that you are special.

love

shona is in the city of love as i write this, with someone she loves.

what was once a dream is now a reality. i love seeing her so happy. 

high flyer (not!)

lots of flying lately!

brisbane

melbourne

brisbane

sydney

brisbane 

 and sydney again tomorrow!

plus two days on the gold coast in between it all. 

needless to say, life has been busy...

hence the lack of blog activity. 

i will try and get back into it though.

lots of exciting stuff going on!

new beginnings

i just had to share some of the gorgeous photos taken at the polo last sunday. (i didn't share this one though! also note the lack of any actual polo match photos!) i have been spending lots of time with jess, megan and susanna and these girls have been making me feel seriously happy and full of life again. thank you ladies! jess and i went to high school together but didn't become close until recently when she also started at virgin australia. she now works at a different company but still manages to coordinate all of our social lives on the side! and we love her for it. (well i do anyway!) i've always wanted more close girlfriends to spend time with in brisbane. since jess has been in my life i've done lots of things that i normally wouldn't have. last night i went to a free comedy night at the powerhouse (hilarious!) with all of the pretty faces you see below. i've been saying 'yes' to almost anything as well as trying some new things on my own. most recently i took myself out for breakfast to a cool place that i had been wanting to go to forever called sourced grocer. there i tried blue cheese for the first time (strong!) and ran into another friend of jess', sarah. she told me all about her yoga retreats and healthy living and eating and it was really inspiring. even before our catch up though i had been thinking positively, eating well and exercising almost everyday. i even signed up at naomi's gym tonight! the changes are tinged with sadness, as this new chapter of my life has begun as another one ended, with my relationship coming to a final close recently. i've always been a happy, positive person, but the past year has been a difficult one emotionally speaking, and i felt myself slipping further away from the confident, independent person i once was, despite being with someone who was very loving, patient and supportive. somewhere along the lines i lost who i was and my self confidence evaded me, causing all kinds of heartache. it's also hard to love someone who doesn't love themselves or their own life first, and part of the reason we decided to part ways was so that i could focus on doing exactly that. so that is what i intend to do! as dramatic as it sounds, i feel like i'm starting to choose life again. why frown when you could laugh or smile. why worry when you have so much.. your health, home, job, family, friends, beautiful brisbane and the list goes on. i want to better myself in every way possible, especially on the inside, where it really counts. embracing new friends is a part of this journey. of course kahli, naomi, beth, anna and all of my beautiful friends in sydney and melbourne are irreplaceable, but i'm really excited about the possibility of having even more life long friends. and as hard as it was at first, i'm grateful for this fresh start and free time! i'm no longer consumed with making someone else happy, or scared of being alone, instead i am living my own young and care free life. it feels good, exactly how life should feel! ♥

lovely gals (and guy!)

jess

susanna

megan

feel it all

being tender and open is beautiful. as a woman, i feel continually shhh’ed. too sensitive. too mushy. too wishy washy. blah blah. don’t let someone steal your tenderness. don’t allow the coldness and fear of others to tarnish your perfectly vulnerable beating heart. nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to truly be affected by things. whether it’s a song, a stranger, a mountain, a rain drop, a tea kettle, an article, a sentence, a footstep, feel it all – look around you. all of this is for you. take it and have gratitude. give it and feel love. 

 — zooey deschanel 




this reminds me so much of my beloved big blue eyed friend beth. she called me on friday night from the beautiful wedding reception of a close friend of hers - see above! 'don't you think everyone deserves to find true love jess' and 'isn't it amazingggggg' were just a couple of the things she gushed over the phone to me. she was hilarious and it was just what i needed at the time. she had mum and i in stitches of laughter. little did she know she was on loud speaker, making her all the more candid. although she may have had a champagne or two (or many!) this level of expression, passion and wonder is the norm for beth. she finds beauty in everything and takes the time to truly stop and smell the roses. and we all love her for it. she told me she frustrated her travelling companions in america because she took too long looking at the sites and wanting to take photos of every little detail. i think that's the best way to be. beth, you are a true inspiration to me and so many people in your life. i hope you know it, and i always say, never change. ♥ 

don't cry

heart shaped confetti

so incredibly happy and excited tonight.

my darling best friend was proposed to ♥ 

any excuse to eat cheese

what do you know... another food related picture and post. what is with me lately!? (now also feels like an appropriate time to mention that i did end up having some chocolate cake tonight...) this saturday night is riverfire in brisbane. i've never been but i'm really excited about the possibilty of going down early with a picnic blanket, bottle of wine and various cheeses, dips, bread, dried fruit, quince paste, grapes... should i keep going? riverfire is the closing event of the brisbane festival which is on at the moment. i haven't seen much of it (despite my best intentions) however there is all kinds of cool stuff happening in our sleepy city as we speak. most of it is a little too cool and quirky for my likings (think weird art instalations)  however there are some more mainstream things on that i would happily go to and not feel too far out of my depth at, like the city of lights show! i am hoping to get there one night this week which will be fun.

my treat

ah! i love this picture!

i have such a soft spot for fresh sugary cinamon donuts.

i sometimes treat myself to one when i'm out shopping for some reason.

i think i figure i've done so much walking that i deserve it.