September, the first month of spring, and the month of making new friends (and new garden spaces)!

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September is the start of a new season, and the beginning of a whole new Mon. Come spring, I always feel so much happier, lighter, and more driven. I am like a little flower, just waiting to bloom. You can see it too. You can see it in my face, in my demeanour, and in how the first month of spring went for me. September is the start of a damn good innings.

TRAVEL

Last month, I went north, I went south, and I went overseas.

I spent a few days down in Bunbury to celebrate father’s day with dad. We went wine tasting together, we went out to father’s day lunch, and I even cooked a mean lamb shank dinner for everyone. It was a fabulous weekend.

The very next weekend, my housemate and I drove up to Geraldton to spend some time with my aunt and uncle. We spent a lot of time chilling on their amazing deck, I made a big batch of gingerbread, and we had quite the experience at the Chapman Valley country show.

Just before September was out, I boarded a plane and headed for Thailand. It wasn’t my first time to Thailand, but it was the first time I had ever been to Bangkok and Koh Samui. And what a time it was!

THE GOOD
My equipment got an upgrade!

In September, I bit the bullet and finally upgraded my lens. You may recall some issues I had with my 24-70mm lens? Well, I made the executive decision to just go in and get the 24-70mm f2.8 I had been eyeing off for near on a year. Boy oh boy, am I happy about my choice! It is such a crisp lens, and performs beautifully in lower light situations.

But that isn’t the only addition to my photography kit…

I also took the plunge (not into water… yet) and got myself a brand new GoPro Hero7 Black. Honestly, I can’t believe I didn’t have one until now. It is darn amazing, and I know it is going to be so helpful on upcoming trips!

There was a fab blast from the past

Around 4 years ago, I was in Langkawi and happened to meet the marketing manager of the hotel that we were staying at. She was so super lovely, and we have stayed in touch ever since that stay. Fast forward to September this year, and we finally got to see each other again!

I was doing some work with my Aloft Perth fam for their Homecoming concert, and she was over from Hong Kong for the event. She was every bit as lovely as I remember her, and it was so lovely to catch up again. We had such a fabulous night, dancing, singing, and hanging out with some of the funnest faces in the Perth social media scene (@ashleighjade05, @who_is_alex, @gypsylovinlight and @bobbybense, I am looking at you lot!).

Mamma has a vegetable garden!

While I was in Bunbury visiting dad, we did the obligatory father’s day trip to Bunnings. Dad picked up a few bits and bobs to polish his car, and I picked up the beginnings of my vegetable garden. There were a few terracotta pots, a variety of chilli seedlings, some baby coriander seedlings, and some teeny little black cherry tomato seedlings. Because I still live in a rental, cultivating my crops in a whole bunch of pots seemed like the best way to go.

I am proud to say that by the end of September – despite not being home an awful lot – my babies are thriving! The seedlings have almost quadrupled in size, and my coriander (which is notoriously hard to grow) is flourishing. Proud mamma right here! You can bet your bottom dollar I am working on building my garden as we speak.

THE NOT SO GOOD
A quad bike and I had a bit of a run in

Well, when I say a ‘run in’, we had a bit of a situation that could have resulted in me not being here anymore. I won’t go into it in too much detail because it is still a sensitive topic. All I will say is keep your wits about you on those machines. They can be super dangerous! My accident wasn’t the only one that day either, so we are all very lucky that nothing worse came of the situations.

I lost it at someone I care about

We all do it, right? But I don’t like when it happens. I am not a confrontation kind of person, and I much prefer calmly conversing about what is or isn’t happening. Unfortunately, my emotions got the better of me this time, and I got a little bit bitey. Was it warranted? Well, yes. But again, I don’t like to be the drama queen.

Thankfully, my little moment hasn’t tarnished anything!

Things cost more than they should

It was partly impatience, and partly the fact that my go-to camera store didn’t have it in stock, but my new lens cost me way more than it was going to. Just my luck that the day I go in to purchase the lens, it was actually on sale but they didn’t have the canon mount in stock. So, much to my dismay, I ended up paying $200 more for the lens just so I could have it for a job and my trip to Thailand. Water off a duck’s back…

LOVING

~ The people I am meeting and surrounding myself with. There was a real tough patch there for me mentally, and a lot of it came down to the people I was associating with. The last 2 years or so, I honestly could not be happier with the direction I am going, and the people I am meeting because of it. This last trip to Thailand, has really solidified this for me. Damn, I was in bloody good company (Kerry, Christine and Lea, I’m looking at you)! So far, travel writers have turned out to be the most amazing bunch!

~ Woolworths. Never ever did I think I would declare my love for one of the duopoly supermarkets, but Woolworths has stolen my heart with their little garden giveaways. I am OBSESSED. I even drove to Morley so I could shop at the Woolworths there and get myself some surprise seeds for my vegetable garden (admittedly, I had to go to Bunnings and Officeworks too, so I had a bigger agenda than free seeds). So far, I have tomatoes, chamomile, and some rocket that started sprouting just 4 days after I planted it!

~ Sparkling water. It just makes water so much more fancy, and so much more fun to drink. I know when I am in good company when, if we can’t order wine, they all want sparkling water too!

LOATHING

~ Snails and slugs. My obsession with my vegetable garden should explain this one. I go out and check on the garden every morning as the kettle is boiling, and I am forever picking out the slimy little buggers.

~ That my hair prefers humidity. Of course I live in a state of dry heat, and of course my hair prefers the opposite. Eeeeesh! It behaves so well when I am away somewhere warm and humid, and then frizzes like crazy when I am back home. How handy.

~ Perth drivers. I swear every time I am on the road, I witness a near collision. People are so impatient and inconsiderate on the roads in Perth. Yes, you do actually have to let someone know you are thinking of changing lanes before you do it!

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