2018 Year in Review

Looking back at 2018 fills me with loads of contentment. When I was kid, I'd hear things like "just wait to you're older" and not in the good context either, more like, when you reach this mythical age of adulthood you will be swamped by the stresses of the world, with money problems and things that you'd never even imagine as a kid. Now I'm 34 and each year just keeps getting better and better.  I have more control over my time, I have more vision to my direction and I just feel super happy and grateful to be alive! I'm so stoked for 2019.  I was super eager to put away our Christmas stuff on boxing day not because I wanted Christmas to be gone just because I'm ready for the next chapter!

In 2018, I continued with my bought/gift/made series!

Carmen and Ben's mum came to stay with us at the start of the year and she taught us mosaics!

I successfully completed my year of blooms project (still have December to post!) It was such a great project to do, I feel like I learnt so much about gardening and flowers and just got deep on the nature appreciation tangent, which is exactly where I want my life headed!

Although clay died down when we got to our new place, the first half of the year was strong!

Ben and I celebrated out 8th year anniversary and took a trip down to Brisbane

I had a go at kick starter!

We visited Goma and saw the Patricia Piccinini exhibition

Yayoi Kusama!

I got into paper making and hoarding petals to include with my paper.

I continued learning about gardening, set up a garden at our old place and a new one at our current home

Focused on making my wooden stands and establishing my side project Spirit You.  

To be honest about 70% of my free time went to this and I have zero regrets!

Lowy taught me how to weave a basket out of cane

I didn't take as much film as I'd like but I did throw myself into a more active lifestyle, continuing it over from 2017. Lots of mountain climbs and bush walks and swims and I tried stand up paddle boarding for the first time and loved it!

For my birthday I visited Nimbin and tried glamping for the first time

I also gave the pottery a wheel ago and stuck with it until I was able to produce something half decent

I also visited Crystal Castle on my birthday which was an utterly magical experience

I'm not sure if I ever shared on here but Gremlin's health took a really bad turn this year.  After moving he developed feline urinary disorder which we narrowed down to the stress of moving into a new environment and change.  There was a stage where we had to race him to an emergency vet and lucky Ben had the funds to go ahead with whatever was needed to save him.  He now has to be on a special diet for the rest of his life and we just have to keep a super close eye on him.  

I love our cats so much, the thought of them not being around breaks my heart!!

I made some beach trips this year and added to my collection

I also devoted hours to watching youtube makeup tutorials so I could learn cat eye! Not an expert but I'm a lot better than I used to be! I also started growing out my bleached hair to let it recover and in the process noticed lots of tiny greys :P

We said goodbye to our house in the country and moved into suburbia

I finally was able to wear earrings again after having sensitive ears for so long

Totally in love with my new room and the ability to decorate it!

Although I didn't get to go as much as I'd liked I still made solid efforts to go thrifting when I could!

I bought my first large piece of furniture and got into chalk painting!

We visited an orchid show and I fell further in love with orchids this year

We visited Ben's mum out in biggenden and his brother down in Port Macquarie earlier in the year

And I finished the year off creatively by making Spirit Yonis!

Every year I fill out a little questionnaire of my year (just for myself) which I save in a folder.  One of the questions is, "what date remains etched in your memory?" and for me it's Nov. 14th.  I don't think I talked about this on my blog but I finally found out I have endometriosis.  I might do a big blog entry on it at some stage its just progressed at such a slow pace with many moving parts that its never felt complete to share. Nov 14th stands out in particular because it was my first time to have surgery and general anesthetic.  Looking back it was a really amazing time in my life, it made me slow down and refocus and I'm really grateful for it and all the amazing free health care I received and continue to receive and Ben being around.  I now have loads more clarity on my health an amazing feeling when previously I'd felt in the dark. 

I'm 100% positive for 2019, apparently (according to Elizabeth Peru) it's going to fast paced creative year and one where you'll need to avoid the negative chatter around - I can do that, I think!

I wish each and everyone of you an amazing year ahead!!!

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2017 Year in Review

I love doing these yearly recaps, sometimes I get caught up in the excitement of the new year that I nearly forget to reflect on everything that's happened in the year just gone.

One of the things I was most proud of in 2017 was the amount of film I shot.  Having my Film Camera a Month Series really helped this department flourish and although I won't continue it in 2018 I do hope to keep taking lots of film!

FILM CAMERA A MONTH

Jan / Feb / March / April / May / June / July / Sep / Oct / Nov

The other area I felt prolific in, was clay.  

Having Ben's Kiln set up was a huge help in keeping production flowing!

I have to say 2017 was a huge one for me in terms of personal development/growth.  I almost want to go out on a limb and say it was my year of biggest growth or at the very least, satisfying growth.  I felt proud of myself and a feeling of being on a great track.  Minimalism and it's spiral effect, played a huge part in helping my days feel a lot more effortless and intentional.

Marie Kondo / The Minimalists

I also continued my bought/gift/made series and Thrifty Sundays.  In 2017 I tried super hard to buy the majority of things from thrift stores and be intentional with other purchases.  Watching the doco True Cost, opened my eyes even further and made any rationalising I did with past purchases seem irrational at best. I'm trying to make the best decisions, even if sometimes I still faulter.

I also continued with wood work projects. I'm currently typing on my handmade desk which I can happily report is still going strong!

I didn't travel overseas in 2017 but I did some fun local trips which got the creative juices flowing and the routines messed up :P

NSW - here and here 

Gold Coast - here and here

Chinchilla - here

Fraser - here

Melbourne - here and here and here

I made a love zine

and my friend Lowie helped me make a garden

I can happily report since moving that I set up a garden on my own (using Lowie's tips) and that new garden is thriving. Growing my own plants was definitely one of the most amazing things to happen in 2017 - I'm only sad that I didn't start it sooner!

Of course no year is complete without some GOMA visits - here and here

some seaglass and an updated vegan guide :)

I said to Ben in the car the other day that I'm really grateful to be vegan. I wouldn't of said that at the start of my journey when I found it hard and sacrificing but now I feel completely different. I'm a much more happier person who loves food and life and is probably healthier too!

I also started showing some of my fee fashion

and a big hello from Gremlin and Peaches!

Also a big thank-you to all my lovely readers, I hope you can all reflect back on your own year and carry lots of hope for 2018.  I'm as always, beyond excited, I feel like my energy gets a big reset at the start of each year and my eyes fill wide with optimism. I can only imagine how life changing and great 2018 will be and I'm excited to share that journey here on my little old blog with you :)

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