Dear May...

favourite part// Getting accepted into a Summer Camp after having given up hope of getting into one

reading// The final Harry Potter (*sob*) and the Life As We Knew It series (again)

listening to// Sleeping at Last for the second month in a row as well as loving "Heal" by Tom Odell

learning// That my productivity level is inversely proportionate to the amount of work I have to do

doing// A lot of last minute and not at all fun to-dos

next month// Turning 20 and having a massive adventure in the USA 

I hope you all had a fantastic May and make the most of June, the last month in the first half of the year!

x Erin

Playlist || A Brand New Adventure (and an announcement)

Sometimes we find ourselves on the road to somewhere completely new. Whether your adventure is a physical or a mental one, these are some songs to get you pumped for every bit of it. Listen to the playlist here

For a while I'd been planning on making a Winter playlist to mark the changing seasons, but in a twist of fate it turns out that I'll only have 20 days of winter this year.

Back in August I applied for Camp America, and after numerous unsuccessful interviews I had resigned myself to the fact that it just wasn't going to happen. It was the middle of May and I was wondering what to do for my birthday since I'd be home alone this year before I got emailed by Camp Chipinaw in New York; their yoga instructor had just dropped out and they were looking for a new one. Just a couple of days and an interview later I had the job and an uncontainable amount of excitement and nerves to go along with it. I'm going to be teaching yoga to kids for 8 weeks!

There is so much to be excited about: my first solo adventure, my first summer birthday, turning 20 in a completely new city with completely new people, and getting to finally meet Carly who I'm almost convinced had part of her soul come from the same star as mine.

I'm going to be in New York from June 21st until September 3rd, which means that there's likely going to be fewer blogposts than usual. At the moment I'm queueing up as many as I can but there might still be weeks where there won't be a post, I'm sure you understand! I will still try to get on and reply to comments when possible, but I just wanted to let you guys know so you don't think I've dropped off the side of the earth over the next few months! (I've only just dropped off my side and found myself on the other).

I'm going to try and upload photos of my adventures on my instagram so feel free to follow along over there!

I can't explain how excited I am, I've not done something this big in a long long time and I'm hoping a new point of view on the world will be just what I need for inspiration.

x Erin

A List || 9 Ways to be Kinder to Yourself

You know what's actually much harder than it should be? Treating yourself as lovingly as you treat others. It's so easy to slip into the habit of self-loathing when we base our worth/success/intelligence off of that of another person. Why do we do that! 

You're great. You're fantastic. You're worth a whole lot more than can ever be quantified and you don't have to let a society which benefits from the low self-esteem of it's citizens dictate the way you see yourself.

x Erin

1000 Unanswered Questions

"Mum," I asked one day peering out the window and into the garden, "Have you ever wondered what where we are right now looked like 20 000 years ago?"

She said she never had.

Her answer honestly shocked me, I had never thought that perhaps not everyone spent their days with 1000 unanswered questions swirling around their heads. Most of all it made me wonder what other people are thinking about if not constantly questioning everything around them. Is there something I'm missing? Should I be thinking something else? (Yet another 2 questions to add to the list). After a few hours of mulling it over I decided I didn't mind at all that perhaps I have more questions than most, because they're the best kind of questions: the unanswerable kind that let your imagination run wild.

Here's a little snippet of questions I always seem to be asking myself:

(Warning: Any one of these questions is enough to think on for a long while, try not to think of them all at once because I don't want to be responsible for any existential crisis'!)

Tell me, are any of you avid over-thinkers and over-questioners like I am? What are some of the thoughts that stroll through your mind each day? I'm telling you now it's impossible to be bored when you've got a store of questions up your sleeve, next time you're on a long car trip or simply find yourself wondering what to do just pick one and ponder over it for as long as it takes you to imagine the answer.

x Erin

Outfit || May

If you've been reading this blog for pretty much any amount of time at all you will know that my number one criteria when it comes to wearing clothes is whether or not they make me feel like I could be a character in a grand adventure. When I went rifling through my wardrobe on the morning of these photos I could find very few clothes that I hadn't already photographed and my only new purchase in a long time was a pair of jeans. I figured I would have to wear them, but my little explorer heart groaned a bit because they're well, jeans. One of the only items of clothing I've purchased for sheer practicality and not because I could feel magic running through their threads. After a moments deliberation I decided that no, jeans just wouldn't do on a day that called for whimsy.

Instead I found myself in my sewing room amongst this fabric that I used way back at the start of 2013 to make this dress (holy moly that post is the 6th one I ever wrote on this blog, look at the horrible layout!). It was just calling for me to use it, so I did, and I couldn't be happier! It was the perfect outfit for a perfect day.

Frog ear cuff from Ebay, Mum's old shirt, recycled skirt and bare feet for the ground was so alive.

I hope your days are all as beautiful as this one was.
x Erin

The Constellation Catalogue || #1: Orion

Hello hello and welcome to a new series I am bringing to my blog entitled "The Constellation Catalogue". As you all probably know, I am in love with all things astronomical and have decided it's high time I share more of this love with you.

The aim of the Constellation Catalogue is to give you some super basic information about 2 new constellations each month; what they look like, some of their characteristics etc. etc. That will hopefully inspire you to pop outside for at least one night each month and try to find them yourself. I'll give you a link to download each sheet too, so if you want you can print them off to keep. This month I've only got the first constellation for you, one I thought was good to start with since it's so easy to locate in the sky. So without further ado, let's learn about Orion!

Because the constellations appear upside down in the Southern Hemisphere, I've written the name of each hemisphere on the sides of the constellation drawing. Just turn the page so the name of the hemisphere you're in is upright and that is how the constellation will look on your side of the world!

The time when each constellation is visible will differ depending on your location in the world, check which constellations you can see by finding a star map for your city! Here is a good one.

Orion is slowly disappearing from the night sky, but if you get out shortly after dusk you might just be able to catch him before he sets!

You can download this weeks constellation here.

Pretty please let me know what you think of this series and I'd love to hear if any of you go out and find Orion yourselves!

x Erin

Video || April 2015

My memories of April 2015 will forever be sun warmed skin and that one morning where the entire world lay under a blanket of fog.

x Erin