Wonderful darling, just wonderful

When I woke up this morning I was so excited to see some sneak peak photos from a friend's photoshoot up on facebook!

The gorgeously vivacious Miss In Wonderland has, for the last few months, been developing herself a little empire of hats, hair pieces, accessories, and all things gorgeous, which you can check out at either her Made It store, or on Etsy. She is incredibly talented and I can't even begin to tell you how freaking proud I am of her for giving up her job of five years and following her dream to create and design.

Ashliegh puts in such a lot of care and love to her creations and you can certainly tell - I can't wait until I have one (two, three....) of my very own to start wearing around London town! After all, you never know want Santa may get me... Especially if Santa is going back to Perth before meeting me in New York... Ahem... ;-)

So, this photoshoot, shot by the ever-so-talented Dabs (yet another gorgeous Perth lady pursuing her dream!), looks oh-so-amazing! The models are gorgeous, the photos are absolutely stunning, the hats and accessories are to die for and, well, I'll just let them speak for themselves!

A perfect breakfast and a bit of dosh

On Monday I started a new health regime/detox eating plan (spot the girl who hates the word "diet") to kick myself into the realm of health and fitness after those five food-filled weeks in Mallorca. My breakfasts have been a definite highlight of this new eating plan as I've stumbled upon a brilliant fruit salad combination! Try banana, apple, strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, toasted seeds, orange, and mint with lemon juice squeezed over the top - divine!

Today is day six and whilst I'm not craving anything that I can't have (dairy, grains, alcohol, caffeine) I can't say that I've noticed a remarkable difference in my energy levels or general feeling of well being. If anything, I've probably been a little tired but I don't blame that on my food, I blame it on the two shifts at Top Shop earlier in the week and my resulting sore leg, along with the continuous struggle to get some work.

I was put forward for a 3-6 month role earlier in the week which would have been perfect for me and which I could have done easily with one eye closed and a hand tied behind my back whilst wearing a pink bunny suit, however the company hiring decided they didn't want to go with an Aussie candidate purely because we Aussies get scared of winter over here and turn tail and head for home... This makes me a little sad - not only because I didn't get the job despite my skill set being a perfect match for it, but also because I therefore assume that within a few months, I will be the only Aussie left in London! Who will I be able to borrow vegemite from in December??

Luckily however, one of my flatmates works at a doctor's surgery that need an admin person for one, possibly two weeks starting Monday, and the lovely Stacey thought of me! As such, I have a whole week of office work lined up for this coming week, with the distinct possibility that it will evolve into two weeks - TBC later next week. Huzzah!!

Cultivating excitement

So the girl is back in London, and she's cold!

She had two interviews with two different recruitment agencies today, so all in all it was quite a productive day. Now she gets to sit back over the weekend and wait for the work to start coming in!

Well... Not really. It still seems to be a hard market in which to find work so I'm a little concerned about it, but am trying not to worry about it too much as history has shown I tend to be ok. Fingers crossed that this trend continues! One agency told me that the temp work is starting to come in quite nicely - the other told me it starts drying out in the lead up to Christmas. I look forward to proving the first agency right and the other wrong, but in the meantime I will be making a concerted effort to be in close contact with the three agencies I am now registered with, hassling them as much as possible until they're so sick of me they give me work to get rid of me!

I'm also trying not to be concerned about the fact that funds are very low right now. After a day of stressing yesterday, today I have decided to cultivate a sense of excitement at the fact that I'm living on the edge! I have friends that will keep me stocked up on bread (hopefully!). I have some dried apricots and a few pieces of licorice in the cupboard. I have a roof over my head and the funds to pay for another month of that roof, AND, I have a third of a bottle of scotch in my room, to help keep me warm as winter edges in!

I'm putting my faith completely in idea that I will land on my feet - after all - I always seem to have done in one way or another, and going through these times is part of the fun of traveling, right?! Besides... I do need to loose some of those Mallorcian pounds ;-)

Mallorcian finds

 Here in Mallorca I have managed to find my own boat...

People who share my concern for the feelings of bugs...

A new way of decorating the front of my house...

And a pair of slippers that make you feel as though you are walking around on a pair of sheep!

SGH

Today one of the most beautiful ladies I know turns 50.

It's hard to believe, because she in no way acts, looks, or appears in any way to be a lady of such a fine vintage. To be honest, I think she may actually have discovered some sort of elixir of youth or be caught in a time warp of some description, because the way we've been going I'm sure that within the next few years we'll appear to be roughly the same age.

This lady is the brilliant mother of my niece and my youngest nephew, the wife of my youngest brother, and my amazing and gorgeous sister. She is my sister by marriage technically of course, but I could not love her more if I had grown up with her by my side... In fact, I did grow up with her by my side! It's just that she was a few years ahead of me which, as a sister, I can rub in a little every now and then... ;-)

Shelley is the bubbles in my champagne, the see in my saw, and one of the best sisters a girl could ever ask for. She's always been there for me to talk about love, life, and anything else that comes up in casual or not so casual conversation, and has always been 100% supportive of me, which I am immensely thankful for and appreciative of.

She is generous to a fault, exceedingly caring, infinitely beautiful - both inside and out, a superior hostess, hilariously entertaining, and she is one of the most loving women I know.

She actually gave us a bit of a scare not too long ago, and surprisingly, to me at least, expressed a little surprise herself at how much everyone gathered in around her, expressing their love and care for her. This, my dear sister, should come as no surprise what-so-ever. You are loved adoringly by anyone and everyone who knows you, and for very good reasons. You are gorgeous. GAW-JUS! So, on your birthday, lets all eat a little bit of dust and celebrate one of the most fabulous women any of us know!

Love you sis.
xx

Palma Cathedral

A few more photos, again, from a few days ago. This time of the marvellous gothic Palma Cathedral.

Sorry for the lack of words - will be back to normal programming soon.x

Port de Soller to Sa Calobra

These are a few photos from about a week ago when I journeyed from Port de Soller to Sa Calobra (the snake) via ferry boat. The torrent at Sa Calobra is quite a famous Mallorcian walk but does require some technical gear which, sadly, my Diesel street shoes were not up to. The water was an amazing colour, and the scenery just stunning, but I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

Crossing the bar

The last week has been incredibly hard.

Last week my Poppa was taken to hospital and we were told that he only had 24 hours to live. I woke up on Friday morning to an email from my Mum telling me this news and there commenced a frantic scramble to try to get a hold of family back home to see what the latest update was. Since then, it's been an emotionally exhausting existence, trying to work out if I could get back home and accepting the fact that I couldn't, calling the hospital every night and every morning to see how Poppa had gone over the last few hours - fearing before each call that I was about to hear news I didn't want to hear, and checking in with my Mum and my brother every day to make sure they were also ok, and so that they were I assured I was "ok" too. 

The first time I spoke to Poppa after he was hospitalised, he was barely there and couldn't speak. Our conversation wasn't helped by the fact that I was sobbing on the other end of the line, trying to tell him how much I loved him and that I hoped he wasn't in any pain. The next few days he was always asleep when I called.

The second time I spoke to Poppa, he was sounding much better. He was still weak, but was able to carry on a conversation with me, and we spoke about my travels, the postcard I had sent him from Mallorca, and his morphine-induced hallucinations of water flowing on the ceiling.

That was the last time I spoke with my Poppa.

I have received some lovely emails from friends offering support from afar, but one in particular gave me a quote to which I have been clinging... "Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened." I'm not done crying yet, but it does warm my heart when I think that Poppa is now back with Nanna again, caught up in the whirlwind of their youth when they first met and were just starting to fall in love - Nanna beautiful and glowing with happiness, Poppa dashing in his navy uniform.

Today, as my Poppa is laid to rest back home, I cannot help but cry because his time in this world is over and my heart aches with missing him, but I do promise to raise a glass of Scotch for him, and I will smile because I knew him, and because the life of Harold Douglas Coleopy, my Poppa, happened.

Bi-stingual

Back home in Australia, I pretty much gave up on swimming at the beach. Not for fear of killer Great White Sharks, but because nearly every time I went in the water, without fail, a bastard of a jellyfish would sting me! Sure it doesn't kill you (the ones I swam with anyway), and the pain fades reasonably quickly, but it's a minor irritant I can do without.

Today Deanne took me out with her niece and her husband for a lovely walk down to a little swimming area between Valldemossa and Deia, known as 'hole in the rock' (can you see why?) and with much excitement I launched myself out into the beautiful Spanish waters and started swimming around with nary a care in the world.

I was so excited to be swimming in Spain, and felt so safe in such beautiful waters, that as I stroked out towards my friends it came as a huge shock when my chest and neck suddenly exploded in stinging pain, along with my hand when I instinctively tried to swipe away whatever creature was attacking me! As I back-paddled, I saw the nasty and not-so-little mauve coloured fellow jellying off towards the cliffs, as my hand (and probably my neck) started looking as though my veins were about to start erupting from my skin. Little fudge monkey!

We stayed in the water a good while longer, albeit slightly nervous. No other jellies were spotted. No one else was stung. I feel it is entirely likely, and highly probable, that the Australian jellies seamailed the Spanish jellies and told them to look out for me and make me feel at home by sending out a bi-stingual ambassador if I ever did dare wade into their waters.

El bastardos!