Dear January

Happy Birthday The Halfway Point!

Hi Everyone!

Today marks 3 years since the beginning of this humble little blog. Over that time there's been a change of name, change of post type and countless changes of layout (the most recent being just a couple of days ago). I will admit there's been a lot of times that I've considered just abandoning this space altogether but something leaves me hanging onto it; it's my one place to test out my creativity without judgment, plus I've made some pretty great friends along the way.

Thankyou so much for sticking around no matter how long that's been for, I love this little community more than anything. I love hearing your feedback, which is why I'd really appreciate it if you could take a few seconds to answer a few questions about my blog in an attempt to make it better over the coming year (Don't worry, your answers are anonymous). If not that's fine!

The Constellation Catalogue || #8 Aquarius

Aquarius is one strange looking constellation and unfortunately another one of those ones where you have to squint slightly while turning your head at the exact right angle in order to even slightly imagine where it got it's name from. Those Greeks had vivid imaginations I tell you!

Don't forget that you can download a copy of this sheet here and find a star map for your location here. 

View all of the constellations I've covered so far here.

x Erin

Half the World Away

The first time I heard one of Aurora's songs I was in complete awe. She's a year younger than me and her voice and songs are nothing short of complete magic. A few weeks after discovering her songs Runaway and Running with the Wolves the John Lewis advert came out with her singing Half the World Away by Oasis. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to it since.

When I listen to songs I see images in my mind. Aurora's songs are some of the rare few whose images line up with the ones that fill my daydreams, and that's the most wonderful feeling you can imagine.

When I listen to this song I hear a thin film of dust settling on beloved objects. I hear the a crackle of golden afternoon sunlight and the creak of bare feet on wooden floors, I hear a grandfather clock stuck on the same time for months. I hear tales of weariness and hope. It sounds like the joy of being alone and the desire to escape a place you can never seem to leave.

x Erin

Writing || Let's

The Flood

There was no way I couldn't write about this.

This evening the wind was incredibly gusty, unusually so. As I looked out my window at the treetops swaying I saw something even more amazing: a giant swarm of bats being tossed around in the wind. I squealed in delight and sprinted outside camera in hand but nothing could prepare me for what I saw. Tens of thousands of bats were flying directly over my house, crashing into each other as the wind threw them about. The neighbours were out in their yard looking up at them too but everyone else cooped in their houses have no idea what they missed out on.

Bats do generally fly over my house at this time of year, but they're usually higher up and substantially smaller in number. I think the low lying cloud had something to do with it but never in my life have I seen so many bats. I was awe inspired at this incredible show of nature, it definitely makes the top two most insanely breathtaking moments of my life.

(Scroll down to the bottom for a video of them!)

I feel so honoured to have seen it.

x Erin

A List || 10 Tips For Working For/By Yourself

I recently realised that I've been working for myself for two whole years now, how crazy is that! It's still an insanely scary thing to do and everything is always uncertain, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I thought I'd create a list of 10 things I've found to be important while working by/for yourself. This can also relate to other work too, whether that be school work or when you simply need to get stuff done. I hope a couple of them help you out!

Let me know if you have any other tips! I'm always looking for new and better ways to be more productive.

I hope you're having a wonderful January so far,

x Erin

Outfit || January: The Princess

I feel like my life is just one big game of dress up and recently I've been inspired by the Renaissance as well as generally any time in the past where women wore lovely dresses every day because that's just how it was. I got the idea for this green "overdress" item one night then caught the bus to the fabric store the next day and got all I needed to make it. I made the brown skirt on the same day too because I am definitely a skirt and dress person and you can never have to many of either (now that I think about it, have I ever done an outfit post wearing shorts/pants?)

I know you're thinking I'll never have an occasion to wear this, and that's true. Hence why it's not actually finished in these photos; I've actually hemmed it up so it falls at the same length as a skirt. I just liked how it looked long and wanted to get some photos before I cut it.

One thing that I love about it is that I can match the skirts and shirts that I wear underneath it to get a different look each time, how wonderful!

x Erin

 PS. Let me know if you've been sewing any outfits lately,  I have so many homemade dresses in my cupboard now that it makes me happy every time I open it.

2016 Astronomy Calendar || Download

If you've been on this blog for more than a few seconds you'll probably know that one of the things I love the most is astronomy. The other night I was outside watching the International Space Station pass over when a group of people walked past, I told them what I was looking at and one of the ladies told me that seeing it had made her night!

It got me thinking though, that so many people are missing out on these awe-inspiring occasions simply because they've not thought to look for them themselves. Which is why I've decided to make it easier for those who want to see more of the spectacular shows that our universe puts on every year, by making a calendar!

You can download a high quality version of the calendar here.

Use this calendar as a guide to your sky over the next year, I'd recommend looking up more information about each event as it draws closer as some things (such as eclipses) cannot be seen from every location on earth.

If you've never seen a meteor shower before write it down on your new year's resolutions list right now because it is one of the most spectacular and breath-taking sights you'll ever see. Once again it's good to check how good viewing will be from your area but as a general rule I'd say definitely try to get out and see the Geminids and Perseids, the two best showers of the year as well as the Eta Aquarids if you're in the Southern Hemisphere. You can find all the information you need by doing a quick search.

Special Events This Year:

- The Transit of Mercury, May 9th: This is a rare event that last occurred in 2006, where Mercury moves directly in between the earth and the sun and will appear as a small black disk moving across the sun's face. It is obviously damaging to look directly at the sun so there's special equipment to help you view this event, if you can find a local astronomy club who have the right equipment I cannot recommend you try and view this high enough! Unfortunately the transit can't be seen from Australia but I did get to view the Transit of Venus in 2012 which was amazing!

- Juno reaches Jupiter, July 4th: The Juno spacecraft has been making its way to Jupiter for 5 years now and on or around July 4th it is expected to reach its destination. This isn't an event you can personally observe, but it's exciting nonetheless!

I hope you all lift your eyes to the skies a little more this year, and have a wonderful 2016.

x Erin

Video || December 2015

December already feels like a distant memory, but an amazing memory at that. I tried to pack it as full as I could in order to make the most of the last month of 2015. I absolutely cannot wait to see what 2016 will bring all of us and I hope you enjoy coming on another round of adventures with me next year.

On that note, thankyou for the sweet comments you all left on my blog posts over the last year, I'm so lucky to have the sweetest little community on here.

Bring on the next 366 days!

x Erin