January 15, 2017
Being a Blogger: Your Questions AnsweredCatch Up: Doctors Appointments, Life Admin, and MORE TRAVEL!
It has been forever and a day since I sat back and opened up about my life outside of the blog/social media. It is time for another catch up.
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LOCATION: OTHERSIDE BREWING CO, MYAREE, PERTH
BB Dakota top | Zaful gingham skirt (similar here) | Vintage gold belt | Spurr gold heels (similar here) | Doodad and Fandango earrings
SHOP SIMILAR BELOW
Somehow, we are currently staring right in the eye of the start of September, and the start of Spring. If you ask me where the year went, I will simultaneously tell you that I have no idea (it went so quick!) and that I have been so busy and packed a tonne into these past 9 months. Does anyone else think the year both slipped by unnoticed but was also full of notable moments?
If I look back on the last three winter months, a lot has happened. Despite June, July and August always being the slowest months of the year, I feel like I have barely had a moment to breathe. So, what has been happening in the world of Mon?
~ I went back to Cambodia for the second time ~
In case you can’t already tell, I am obsessed with Cambodia. Back in June, I escaped the impending winter cold to travel back to Siem Reap for my second helping.
This time I went with the intention of seeing the parts of Siem Reap I missed last time, and to gather content for my freelance writing. As a bonus, I got to rendezvous with someone who lives on the opposite side of the world and show him a place that holds a special spot in my heart. Bonus: he loved it too.
We visited the temples (a first for him, a return for me), watched the world cup in an open-air sports bar, drank 50c local draught while people watching, and spent a day exploring the floating villages of Tonle Sap. I can’t wait to share more about my second visit to Siem Reap, especially our visit to Tonle Sap; it was by far my favourite part of this trip.
I came back from this trip with so many more treasured memories, and an even bigger hunger to travel more.
# I turned 28 #
Yep, I am just 2 years off turning the big 3-0. It both excites me and scares me, but I guess I shouldn’t be fearful of the things I can’t control, nor the inevitable.
I am 99.99% sure I hate the winter so much because I am a winter baby. Growing up on the beach, all I ever wanted for my birthday was to have a beach party; but being born in August never allowed me the privilege.
This year, I got my wish for the first time ever. A warm birthday, on the beach.
~ I went back to Mauritius ~
That warm birthday I mentioned above? That warm birthday was spent on an idyllic little island called Mauritius. Not only did I finally get to have a warm birthday, I got to go back to my mum’s home country, Mauritius for the first time in 11 years.
Holy heck, what an absolute experience it was being back there. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of belonging and sense of home that I felt there – it was surreal! There was a whole other dimension to that holiday outside of the ‘I am on a gorgeous island and living the island life’. There was a lot of self-discovery, learning and reflection done on the trip; almost as much as all of the swimming, smiling and beer drinking.
Something I really didn’t do much of while I was over there was work. Oh. My. Gosh. It felt so darn amazing to only look at my computer to respond to urgent emails! I was far too busy taking everything in to concern myself with work. As someone who works almost any chance she gets, this break was so, so welcome.
In the coming months I will be sharing more of that trip with you too. It makes me so happy to know that I can share a slice of our little paradise with you all, and hopefully convince you to pay it a visit one day!
# Winter festivals were life #
I am such a sucker for live music and festivals, so to get to three of them in the least ‘festivally’ months was so damn good.
Back in June I was a guest of Lotterywest’s at the SOTA festival and danced away to WA’s best musical talent from 11.00am – 10.00pm. It was a BIG day but it was so, so much fun (if we forget the part where I crumbled when I lost my phone. And then crumbled when the security guard found it for me). I discovered some amazing music by the bands I didn’t know so much about, and I got to see the likes of San Cisco, Birds of Tokyo and Stella Donnelly perform too!
In July, I was invited along to my very first Hot Dub Time Machine event. Now, I will admit that I had certain pre-conceived ideas about the event but they were totally blown out of the water. Watching a warehouse full of people who were born some 50 years after a song was released, BELTING out the song at the top of their lungs was all kinds of magical. It made me think a lot about timeless music and what it takes to create it (because I can tell you now, Justin Beiber and Rhianna are not ‘timeless’).
Just recently, I popped in to the Perth Craft Beer festival too. Even though it wasn’t a music based festival, it still made me so happy because, well, beer! There were so many people I knew from the industry there too, so it was like one big catch up!
~ THE MOST AMAZING TRAVEL EVER IS COMING UP! ~
I have been holding on to what may just be the most exciting news I have had all year, but I can FINALLY spill the beans. I am going to New Caledonia in October! If you missed my announcement on Facebook or Instagram, here is the run down:
3 or so weeks ago, I got a phone call to say that I had won a place on an epic road trip around New Caledonia. The team at New Caledonia Tourism selected 6 people (out of 1600 applicants) from around the world to join them on an adventure packed, 9-day trip around the island… and I am one of them!
I couldn’t be more excited! New Caledonia has been on my travel hit list for a while now, so do be able to see it in these circumstances is all kinds of amazing. Now I just need to hurry up and whiz through September so I can pack my bikini!
# There were openings and launches galore #
If the last 3 months were jam packed full of events, I can’t imagine what Spring and Summer are going to bring! I had the absolute pleasure of being at
- The opening night of Aladdin the Musical in Perth. I took my dad and it was the best decision I made. He was like a kid in wonderland!
- Bright Tank Brewery‘s very first night. It is scary how dangerously close these guys are to home. The lure of that saison is all too real!
- The launch of Eagle Bay Brewing Co x Mary Street Bakery x Mane Liquor x Kyle Hughes Odgers ‘Donut Attack’ imperial stout. Phew, that is a mouthful! I love all the people behind all of these businesses, so to see them all come together to create something delicious was mind blowing.
- Uniqlo’s Perth launch. Typical me, I was 30 minutes early and took the title of the very first Perth customer! Our sneak preview morning was so much fun and much champagne was consumed.
- QT Perth’s launch night. To date, this is one of the best launches I have been to! Not only was there ample delicious food and drink, but we also got a tour of 5 different rooms with a brilliant show in each. Think live tattoo art, a private opera performance and some spoken word. It was so, so cool! Definitely very ‘QT’.
- Westfield Carousel and the new David Jones store for a sneak peek and their first day in business. It was such a fanfare! I even got to meet the gorgeous Jessica Gomes!
~ Health became my top priority ~
I am chasing all the travel, but health is my number 1 priority right now.
After subluxing my shoulder in my sleep, I started myself off on a snowball of doctors appointments. In short, I found out I have a heart arrhythmia and have been undergoing tests to see if there is anything underlying. At this point, there isn’t. But now that I have been so rigorous with my doctors appointments for that, I thought I may as well get all my tests and checks out the way. So far I have had a full blood screen, ECG, an ultrasound and my pap-smear, and next week I will be back for more results and an all important skin check. Sure, it is draining and expensive to go through all of this, but at the end of the day, that time and money is nothing compared to your health!
# I wrote some of my favourite pieces to date #
Each month I am submitting around 5 original pieces to The Upsider. They range in topic from food and lifestyle, to travel and art; but I think I have found my niche in food and travel. I feel so in my element writing on these topics and I love coming up with new ideas to pitch each month. As much as I love fashion and clothing, writing about trends just isn’t me. So lifestyle it is! I have been having a ball interviewing the people behind some of my favourite brands and companies, and I truly think my latest work is indicative of how much I am loving doing what I do!